Department of Health and Social Care

Paramedical Staff: Training

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons student paramedics are unable to access the NHS Learning Support Fund on the same terms as other allied health profession students.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding support for student paramedics.

Stephen Hammond: The NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF) was implemented in 2017 to ensure course sustainability so that subjects previously funded through National Health Service bursaries continued to offer some non-repayable funding for the unique characteristics of these courses – such as placement length, clinical placement requirements and student demographic. The LSF is applicable only to those courses which, at the time, were within the scope of the education funding reforms in 2017. In 2017 the route into paramedicine had various education and funding models which did not include access to an NHS Bursary, therefore it was not part of the funding reforms and students were not eligible to access LSF funding. From March 2018 paramedicine became an all degree subject, with students accessing loans and allowances from the Student Loans Company. In line with the general student population and depending on personal circumstances, students can access funding for all their tuition fees and a maintenance loan of between £7,300 and £11,300 a year. There are no immediate plans, within the current spending review period, to review those professions which can access the LSF.

Carers

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of carers in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.

Caroline Dinenage: The most recent data from the 2011 census shows that the number of carers are:- United Kingdom wide – 6.5 million- England – 5.4 million- Scotland – 492,000- Wales – 370,000- Northern Ireland – 214,000

Department for Health and Social Care: Consultants

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on external consultants in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: The level of consultancy spend by the core Department for each of the last two financial years is as follows: Financial YearConsultancy Services (£000’s)2017-1812,4022016-174,485 The Department utilises consultancy services where it is necessary and prudent to do so. The increase in spend between 2016-17 and 2017-18 relates to programmes of a short-term nature that require specialist support not available within the Department. These resources primarily support development and implementation of a new supply chain model to produce procurement efficiency and value for money for NHS services and the Corporate Services Improvement Programme.

Dermatology

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many student specialist dermatologists there were in each of the last 10 years for which data is available.

Stephen Hammond: The number of doctors in dermatology specialty training programmes in England is shown in the following table. Data is not available for years prior to 2012. Number of doctors in dermatology specialty training at March of each year in EnglandYear in training2012201320142015201620172018Number of dermatology trainees193193192201199201206Source: Published General Medical Council (GMC) data Doctors wishing to enter specialty training in the United Kingdom need to have completed an undergraduate medical degree and two years of foundation training, after which they can enter a six-year specialty training programme. This comprises of one of three two-year core training programmes (Core Medical Training, Acute Care Common Stem in Acute Medicine or Level 1 Paediatric training), followed by four years of dermatology training, and upon successful completion they can gain registration with the GMC as a specialist doctor. The data in the table is specific to years three to six of this training pathway.

Dermatology

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were treated by consultant dermatologists for skin diseases in (a) the last 12 months for which data are available, (b) 2014 and (c) 2009.

Steve Brine: The information is unavailable in the format requested.

Dermatology

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of professional training places for medical graduates wishing to specialise in dermatology; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The number of medical specialty training places that are available each year is set by Health Education England (HEE) and based on their assessment of service gaps and predicted workforce needs. Data from the HEE National Recruitment Office shows that there has been a 100% fill rate in dermatology specialty training in each of the past six years. The numbers of training places available in each year since 2013, the earliest available data, are shown in the following table.  201320142015201620172018Total national training numbers494649494665Source: ST3 recruitment website: https://www.st3recruitment.org.uk/specialties/dermatology Note: Data includes England, Scotland and Wales

Medical Examinations: Adoption

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 195094, if he will make representations to NHS England and the General Practitioner Committee of the British Medical Association on the removal of GP fees for medical checks for prospective adopters ahead of the next annual contract negotiations.

Steve Brine: As part of the general practitioner (GP) contract negotiations there will be a process later this year to consider which issues should be included in the negotiating remit for the 20/21 GP Contract.

Social Services

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish the social care Green Paper within the current Parliamentary Session.

Caroline Dinenage: The Social Care Green Paper remains a priority for this Government and we will be publishing a Green Paper setting out proposals for reform at the earliest opportunity.

Health and Care Professions Council: Fees and Charges

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the equity of the announcement by the Health and Care Professions Council of its plan to increase its registration fees by 18 per cent from October 2019.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has made no assessment of the equity of the announcement by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) of its plan to increase its registration fees. The HCPC is independent of Government and funded by registrants’ fees on a costs recovery basis. Following public consultation, the HCPC is planning to raise its annual fees by £16. If adopted, the HCPC’s annual registration fee will rise from £90 to £106 a year from October 2019. The HCPC registration fees will remain the lowest of any of the United Kingdom-wide health and care regulators. Registration fees are tax-deductible and this fee rise will amount to just over £1 a month extra for most of the HCPC’s registrants.

Secure Psychiatric Units: Private Companies

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2019 to Question 219481 on Secure Psychiatric Units, how many secure unit hospital services in England are run by private health care companies.

Caroline Dinenage: Adult secure learning disability and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) services are provided by a range of organisations, including National Health Service and independent sector providers. The term ‘independent sector’ covers both private and charitable organisations. All high secure services in England, including those for people with learning disabilities, are provided by NHS providers. There are currently six independent sector providers of adult medium and low secure learning disability and/or ASD services in England, delivering services through 14 units.

Drugs: Death

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on reducing drug-related deaths of the report entitled, Drug-related deaths in England: local authorities and how they are responding, published by the National AIDs Trust in January 2019.

Steve Brine: No formal assessment has been made of the National AIDS Trust report. However officials will consider its findings in the development of future drugs policy. The Government is concerned by the number of drug-related deaths and is supporting local areas to develop a more joined up approach to commissioning and delivering the range of services that are essential to supporting recovery and preventing drug-related deaths.

Drugs: Death

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for (a) opioid substitution therapy and (b) other health programmes to reduce drug-related deaths.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of funding for local authorities through the Public Health Grant on drug misuse treatment outcomes.

Steve Brine: Local authorities will receive over £3 billion in 2019/20, ring-fenced exclusively for use on public health. It is for local authorities themselves to determine how best to use these resources based on their assessment of local need and with regard to their statutory duties.Over the five years of the current spending review period we are making over £16 billion of grant funding available to local authorities in England exclusively for use on improving health.As part of the Drug Strategy we are supporting programmes which have a positive impact on young people and adults, giving them the confidence, resilience and risk management skills to resist drug use. This includes supporting schools and educators to take action to prevent substance misuse, including by expanding the Alcohol and Drugs Education and Prevention Information Service, which provides practical advice and tools, and developing the ‘Rise Above’ digital hub. This uses interactive and engaging content to help build young people’s (11-16 years old) resilience and empower them to make positive choices for their health.Public Health England has issued advice on providing naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, and published updated clinical guidelines for drug treatment. It has also worked with a network of treatment providers to establish good practice guidance on managing drug-related death risk factors and to improve partnership between treatment providers and other healthcare services.

Drugs: Death

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect  of his Department’s transfer of the pooled treatment budget to the Public Health Grant in 2013 on the adequacy of funding for drug addiction treatments.

Steve Brine: No assessment had been made. Local authorities will receive over £3 billion in 2019/20 ring-fenced exclusively for use on public health. Our priority is to make sure the system continues to support high quality public health services and outcomes. Local authorities are best placed to make spending decisions based on the needs of their communities.

Respite Care

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the criteria is for bids to access (a) support and (b) funding from the Government’s Carer Innovations Fund.

Caroline Dinenage: In June 2018 the Government published the Carers’ Action Plan, setting out a cross-Government programme of targeted work to support carers over the next two years. Through this, we announced that we would be investing £0.5 million in the Carer Innovations Fund to develop innovative and creative ideas, supported by technology, to improve carers’ everyday experiences. In November, I announced that the budget for the Fund would be significantly increased to £5 million. We will be launching the Fund in the coming weeks and will set out the criteria as part of the application pack.

NHS: Staff

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of agency workers and increase the number of permanent staff in the NHS.

Stephen Hammond: The Department recognises that staff vacancies are among the biggest drivers of agency use in the National Health Service. The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the NHS will have the staff it needs so that the NHS workforce has the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing. My Rt. hon. the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement, working closely with Sir David Behan, Chair of Health Education England, to oversee the delivery of a workforce implementation plan. This will include proposals to grow the workforce, consideration of the additional staff and skills required, building a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensuring first rate leadership for NHS staff. The Government is already increasing nurse training places by 25%, with 5,000 additional nurse training places available every year from September 2018. Additionally, in 2018, up to 5,000 Nursing Associates commenced training through the apprentice route and the Department has a commitment to train up to a further 7,500 in 2019. The Government also made a commitment to have 5,000 additional doctors in general practice. The Department has started to roll out an extra 1,500 medical school places for domestic students, with the first 630 places taken up in September 2018. By 2020, five new medical schools will have opened to help deliver the expansion. We are also working with NHS Improvement to implement a number of measures to reduce agency expenditure with a particular focus on building trust bank capability, so that vacant shifts can be, where possible, filled by existing NHS staff. As a result of this work, total agency expenditure across NHS trusts in England has fallen from a peak of £3.6 billion in 2015/16 to £2.4 billion in 2017/18 – a £1.2 billion reduction. The Secretary of State has made it clear that he wants to do more to drive down agency spend, and we are committed to embedding a ‘bank first’ approach across the NHS.

Public Health: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on funding more greenways to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

Steve Brine: There have been recent discussions with Ministerial colleagues in the Department for Transport and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on increasing physical activity, including cycling and walking. Increasing the number of people cycling and walking has public health benefits as well as being good for the transport system as a whole, local economies and social inclusion. To this end, the Government is making significant investments through the cycling and walking investment strategy. The strategy acknowledges that there is good anecdotal evidence that people would be most encouraged to cycle by being able to ride completely away from motor traffic using routes such as greenways. We have also set an aim to double cycling activity, and increase the percentage of children aged five to 10 that usually walk to school to 55% by 2025.

Self-harm: Females

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Children's Society finding in their report entitled The Good Childhood Report 2018 that one in five 14 year old girls have self-harmed, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on effective prevention of self-harm among teenage girls.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Ministers from both Departments meet to discuss many issues through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Mental Health. We are concerned about the rise in young people, especially girls, self-harming, which is why we included a new key area for action to address self-harming in the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy in 2017. We continue to fund research into self-harming through the Multi-Centre Study for Self-harm in England which will look at self-harming in children and young people in more detail over the next two years. We have invested £249 million to ensure every emergency department has a mental health liaison team in place by 2020/21, which are well placed to treat people who present at hospital for self-harm. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to ensuring that 70% of liaison mental health teams meet the 24 hours a day, seven days a week standard by 2023/24 and 100% thereafter. The NHS Long Term Plan also commits to developing integrated models of primary and community care to support people with complex needs, including self-harming. Furthermore, it commits to building on work through the Global Digital Exemplar programme, to explore the use decision-support tools and machine learning to support better delivery of personalised care and predict future behaviour, such as risk of self-harm or suicide. We are also concerned about potentially harmful suicidal and self-harm content online and met recently with internet and social media providers to seek assurances from the sector that they will address these issues. Ministers form the Department of Education were in attendance at that meeting. The Government will publish an Online Harms White Paper later this year which will set out our requirements of the online sector in addressing suicidal and self-harm content.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons the Central and East London Breast Screening Service was transferred from Barts Health NHS Trust to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2018; and what benefits were anticipated from that transfer.

Steve Brine: Under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and the NHS (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013, NHS commissioners are duty bound to ensure all contracts for National Health Service healthcare services are able to demonstrate value for money and to deliver the best possible service to all patients that access the services, in line with the requirements of the commissioner. The contract for Central and East London Service was put out to tender in November 2016 and a procurement process, in line with the Public Contract regulations, was conducted. The procurement was open to any suitably capable provider. Following the successful conclusion of the procurement, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust was identified as the provider that demonstrated value for money, offered the most suitable service provision, and ability to deliver the service as commissioners had designed it, against the required criteria. Hence the service delivery passed from Barts Health NHS Trust to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. As standards were not being met at the time of the transfer of the service, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust was commissioned to deliver against an agreed recovery plan which runs until September 2019. The service is currently achieving monthly trajectories for improvement and meeting key performance indicators. It is subject to monitoring on a monthly basis by both NHS England and the London Breast Screening Quality Assurance Service.

Department of Health and Social Care: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department currently employees 1,585 Civil Servants and has 48 employees who are undertaking an apprenticeship qualification, which equates to 3.03% of current employees.

Waiting Lists: North East

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will he will make it his policy to undertake a public consultation with patients in the north east of England on proposals to change NHS waiting time targets.

Stephen Hammond: The clinically-led review of standards was announced by the Prime Minister in June 2018. The review is considering the appropriateness of operational standards for physical and mental health relating to planned, unplanned urgent or emergency care, as well as cancer. In the interest of patient safety, we are committed to ensuring that any changes to waiting time standards are based on clinical evidence. The National Health Service Long Term Plan provides a platform upon which innovative models of patient care can and are being developed. In that context, the NHS National Medical Director has been working with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Healthwatch England and many others to consider what matters most to patients, on the clinical issues with the current target regime, and what NHS staff believe will help them provide the best quality care for patients. The review will report its interim findings in the spring of 2019, after which any recommended changes arising from the Clinical Standards Review will be carefully tested across the NHS and be subject to a rigorous approach before they are implemented.  Any changes should, and will, only seek to further strengthen current operational standards. Any changes to the NHS Constitution will be consulted on as is legally required. NHS waiting time targets are national standards and apply to all regions of the NHS.

NHS: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason he did not publish  a sustainable workforce strategy alongside the NHS Long Term Plan.

Stephen Hammond: The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the National Health Service will have the staff it needs so that nurses and doctors have the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed providing. My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has commissioned Baroness Harding of Winscombe, of behalf of the NHS, to lead a rapid and inclusive programme of work to set out a detailed workforce implementation plan. She will report back this spring with detailed proposals to grow the workforce rapidly, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff.

Neurology: Hospital Beds

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the NHS has an adequate number of specialist neuro-rehabilitation beds.

Stephen Hammond: Level 1 Complex Specialised Neuro-Rehabilitation is commissioned by NHS England, with other neuro-rehabilitation services commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups. NHS England will be working with the Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) programme to undertake a review of all inpatient neuro-rehabilitation services across England, to ensure that patients are getting the right access to high quality care. Once this review is complete, both NHS England and GIRFT will consider the findings and develop any required improvement plans.

Nurses: Training

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policy options he is assessing in order to increase the number of people studying nursing.

Stephen Hammond: There are almost 16,000 more nurses on our wards since May 2010. The Department has put in place significant actions to boost the supply of nurses, ranging from training more nurses, offering new routes into the profession, enhancing reward and pay packages to make nursing more attractive and improve retention, and encouraging those that have left to return to nursing. In 2018, NHS England and Health Education England ran an extensive communication campaign ‘we are the NHS’ which was focused on highlighting the positive image of nursing as a career. The Department has made available funding for up to 5,000 additional clinical placements for nursing degrees in England. Apprenticeships play a key role in ensuring the National Health Service has a future workforce, and the Department is committed to broadening routes into nursing. For the first time we now have a complete pathway of apprentice standards into nursing, from entry level Healthcare Support Worker, to Nursing Associate and onto the Nurse Degree Apprenticeship and Advanced Clinical Practice. The latest data from the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) shows that there has been a 4.5% increase in applicants to nursing or midwifery courses at English universities when compared to this time last year, 20181. The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next ten years the NHS will have the staff it needs. This will ensure that nurses are able to offer the expert compassionate care that they are committed providing. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding Chair of NHS Improvement, working closely with Sir David Behan Chair of Health Education England, to a programme of work to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider proposals to grow the workforce, which will include growing the nursing workforce in order to ensure that the NHS has a sustainable supply of future nurses. Note:1Latest UCAS data received 7 February 2019 shows that 34,030 people from all domiciles have applied to study nursing and midwifery courses at English universities, as at 15 January 2019.

Cancer

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the second cancer workforce plan; and whether the Government plans to allocate funding to support the implementation of that plan.

Steve Brine: Health Education England (HEE) published its first ever Cancer Workforce Plan in December 2017 and is making significant additional investment in the cancer workforce, £8.6 million in 2018/19. HEE intended to publish a second phase, longer-term strategy that looked at the cancer workforce needs beyond 2021. This work was started and stakeholders from within the National Health Service and the charitable sector contributed to the early discussions. This work has since been superseded by publication of the NHS Long Term Plan in January 2019. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has subsequently commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key NHS interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals to grow the workforce rapidly, including staff working on cancer, consider additional staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff.

Social Services: Training

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national registration and accreditation system for care workers.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has no plans to introduce a national registration and accreditation system for care workers in England at this time. The Government is committed to a proportionate system of safeguards for the professionals who work in the health and care system. Statutory professional regulation should only be used in cases where the risks to the public cannot be mitigated in other ways. Care workers in England are subject to employer checks and controls including a Disclosure and Barring Service check. And, since 2015, healthcare assistants and care support workers have been expected to achieve the care certificate before working unsupervised. This contains 15 standards setting out a common set of skills, knowledge and behaviours that are needed in order to provide safe, high quality and compassionate care.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taking to increase the recruitment and retention of doctors.

Stephen Hammond: The National Health Service Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the NHS will have the staff it needs so that the NHS workforce has the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement, working closely with Sir David Behan, Chair of Health Education, to oversee the delivery of a workforce implementation plan. This will include proposals to grow the workforce, consideration of additional staff and skills required, building a supportive working culture in the NHS and how to ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff. The Government has committed to growing the general practitioner workforce by an additional 5,000 full-time equivalent doctors as soon as possible. The Department has started to roll out an extra 1,500 medical school places for domestic students, with the first 630 places taken up in September 2018. By 2020, five new medical schools will have opened to help deliver the expansion. The Enhancing Junior Doctors’ Working Lives programme was established in 2016 by Health Education England (HEE) to address a range of issues that were impacting on doctors in training. The programme continues to be an important focus of HEE’s Medical Reform Programme.

Royal Liverpool Hospital

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the delayed completion of the programme of works at the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Stephen Hammond: The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust are currently working closely with the replacement contractor Laing O’Rourke and external advisors in undertaking a fully costed assessment of all the works needed to complete the new Royal Liverpool Hospital. This includes significant works required to fix the structural issues and defective works that have been identified following the termination of the Private Finance Initiative contract in 2018 in addition to those identified at termination and firming up the scale of works for issues previously identified. The work also includes an assessment of the additional revenue expenditure associated with the existing hospital facility to maintain patient safety and business continuity. Additional capital funding has already been provided by the Department for this purpose. The finalised costings and the additional capital and revenue funding required, to come from Departmental budgets, will be set out in a business case which the Trust are aiming to submit to NHS Improvement and the Department for approval in April 2019. The Department will continue to support and fund the Royal Liverpool Trust to get the new hospital built as quickly as possible, while making every penny of taxpayers’ money count.

Eating Disorders:

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 15 February 2019 Guardian article entitled Hospital admissions for eating disorders surge to highest in eight years, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of admissions of patients with eating disorders between 2010-11 and 2017-18.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 15 February 2019 Guardian article entitled Hospital admissions for eating disorders surge to highest in eight years, what proportion of the £2 billion announced for mental health funding in the Autumn Budget will be allocated to treatment for eating disorders.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to ensuring everyone with an eating disorder has access to the best quality of care to meet their needs and so the National Health Service is addressing this commitment by treating more children and young people with an eating disorder than ever before. As services improve, and as the NHS continues to identify and meet previously unmet need, this is leading to an increase in activity. The latest data shows that over four out of five young people already receive treatment within one week in urgent cases and four weeks for routine cases. This means more young people are getting the right support, at the right time, closer to home. The NHS Long Term Plan has set out how we will build on this. NHS England’s proposals to improve care for adults include maintaining and developing new services for those who have the most complex needs. The recently published ‘NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance 2019/20 Annex B: Guidance for operational and activity plans: assurance statements’ to accompany the NHS Planning Guidance for 2019/20 makes clear that these services include services for adults with eating disorders. This guidance is available at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-operational-planning-and-contracting-guidance-2019-20-annex-b-guidance-for-operational-and-activity-plans-assurance-statements/ Further detail on implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan's commitments to improve mental health services will be available when NHS England publishes its framework for implementation in the spring.

NHS: Capital Investment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the capital budget was used to support radiotherapy in 2018; and what proportion of the capital budget will not be committed by the end of the 2018-19 financial year.

Steve Brine: Modernising radiotherapy services is crucial to our ambition to increase cancer survival rates and a number of strategic Departmental capital programmes have supported investment in 2018-19 in this area.In 2018-19 around £106 million capital funding has been budgeted for the following radiotherapy related programmes:- £46 million for the Linear Accelerator programme, part of £130 million of investment over three years; and- £60 million for the Proton Beam Therapy programme, part of £250 million investment in two new centres by 2020-21.This investment represents 1.8% of the total £5.983 billion 2018-19 capital Departmental Expenditure Limit.The Department has also approved £29.4 million of capital investment in 2018-19 to Cancer Alliances to encourage local areas to find new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier, improve the care for those living with cancer and ensure each cancer patient gets the right care for them.In addition to this central programme, individual National Health Service provider organisations will also have made local capital investments to support radiotherapy from their own local capital programmes. The Department does not collect information at this level of granularity.The Department’s overall capital budget is fully committed in 2018-19 and we work closely with NHS England, NHS Improvement and other delivery partners to ensure that it is utilised to maximum effect to support improvements in patient care.

Microbiology

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of microbiota assessments as an adjunct to (a) physical examinations, and (b) mental health examination on the accuracy of medical diagnoses.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on the microbiome/microbota. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The evidence on the use of microbiota to improve diagnosis for a range of conditions is currently the subject of active research. The NIHR has directly funded and supported research studies on the microbiota and microbiome totalling £23.8 million in since 2011/12.

Social Services: Older People

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities have sufficient resources to meet demand for older people’s care; and what steps he is taking to reduce levels of variation in available care across regions of England.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the Coram Family and Childcare's survey on Older People's Care, published in December 2018, which found that over 4.3 million people aged 75 and over live in areas with inadequate social care to meet demand.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has given councils access to up to £3.6 billion more dedicated funding for adult social care in 2018-19 and up to £3.9 billion for 2019-20. As a result of these measures, funding available for adult social care is increasing by 9% in real terms from 2015-16 to 2019-20. The 2018 Autumn Budget also announced a further £410 million to improve social care for older people, people with disabilities and children is also available in 2019-20. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to shape their whole local markets to ensure that they are sustainable, diverse and offer high quality care and support for people in their local area. Councils have statutory duties to look after the vulnerable, elderly and disabled people in their area. At the earliest opportunity we will be publishing a Green Paper setting out our proposals to ensure the social care system is sustainable in the longer term.

Endoscopy

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer on 14 February to Question 219561 on Endoscopy: Recruitment, how many of the 202 clinical endoscopists have now completed their training and are able to undertake procedures in flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Steve Brine: Trainees in Health Education England’s Clinical Endoscopy programme choose, depending on their trust’s requirements, to train in one endoscopy modality - either flexible sigmoidoscopy or upper gastrointestinal. Of the 202 clinical endoscopists, 66 candidates have already completed their training and are able to undertake flexible sigmoidoscopy with a further 46 currently in training. This will total 112 trained and able to perform flexible sigmoidoscopy. The remaining 90 are trained or training in a different modality and may receive further training by their trust in an additional modality, which may also include flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Medical Equipment: Regulation

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the UK leaving the EU will affect the way in which medical technology is regulated in the UK; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the ability of UK citizens to travel abroad with dialysis machines.

Stephen Hammond: The Government is committed to the safe and effective regulation of medical devices in the United Kingdom. We continue to strengthen safety while ensuring patients and the public have fast access to new, innovative devices. Subject to the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, there will be a two-year Implementation Period, during which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) would continue to be recognised as a European Union competent authority designated under the EU Directives for medical devices, and the regulatory framework would operate as it does now. Arrangements beyond the implementation period are subject to further negotiation. In a ‘no deal’ scenario, the UK’s current participation in the European regulatory network for medical devices would end, and the MHRA would take on the responsibilities for the UK market that are currently undertaken through the EU system. The UK is seeking bilateral agreements with individual Member States to secure the continuation of existing arrangements or the establishment of comparable ones. In the meantime, the Government continues to advise people who require treatment for pre-existing conditions, including dialysis users, to seek the advice of their doctor or specialist unit before making travel arrangements. They should also contact the chosen specialist administrator in their destination to ensure treatment received after 29 March 2019 would not be affected by a ‘no deal’ scenario.

Drugs: Misuse

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children under the age of 16 have had a (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal drug overdose in each of the last 10 years.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children under the age of 18 that have had a (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal drug overdose in each of the last 10 years.

Steve Brine: The information in the format requested is not held centrally. The Office for National Statistics publishes an annual summary of all deaths related to drug poisoning (involving both legal and illegal drugs) and drug misuse (involving illegal drugs) in England and Wales. Data on deaths in those aged under 20 is grouped together. The reports are available at the following link:www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoninginenglandandwales/2017registrationsNHS Digital collects Hospital Episode Statistics regarding intentional self-poisoning that resulted in a hospital admission, however to provide this information for the last ten years would incur disproportionate costs.

Health Services: British Nationals Abroad

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has publicised the potential changes to accessing and paying for (a) dialysis and (b) other medical treatment in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has published updated advice for United Kingdom persons resident in countries in the European Economic Area as well as for those wishing to travel to such countries after exit day with specific information on potential changes to access to reciprocal healthcare and precautions they may wish to take in a ‘no deal’ scenario. General information is available on the GOV.UK website and country-specific advice can be found under the relevant sections of NHS.UK as well. This includes guidance for those with pre-existing health conditions, including dialysis users, and suggestions on alternative arrangements they may wish to make, should existing arrangements such as the European Health Insurance Card scheme cease, which appears as a section under the profile of each individual country. The information provided on these pages will be updated in light of new developments and changing circumstances.

Palliative Care: Pregnancy

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what palliative care is available to mothers whose unborn baby receives a diagnosis of a life-limiting disability and wishes to carry her baby to full term; and what plans his Department has to increase the availability of such services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is working to improve the care and support for mothers whose unborn baby receive a diagnosis of a life-limiting disability and who wish to carry their baby to full term. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) ‘Guidance on End of Life Care for Infants, Children and Young People with Life Limiting Conditions’ describes the care and support that families of children with life-limiting conditions should expect to receive. The NICE Quality Standards set out that parents should be given information about emotional and psychological support including how to access it; and when their child is nearing the end of their life, they should be supported in developing an advance care plan for their baby. These standards are reflected in ‘A Perinatal Pathway for Babies with Palliative Care Needs’ produced by the charity Together for Short Lives and in the ‘National Bereavement Care Pathway’ (NBCP). In 2018, the Department provided £106,000 in funding, in addition to an initial £50,000, to Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, to work with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to produce the NBCP to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service. The NBCP is currently being rolled out officially to 32 trusts and in October 2018, all the NBCP guidance materials and tools were published online. In addition, the Long Term Plan sets out steps that the NHS is taking to improve access to perinatal mental healthcare for mothers and fathers, and support for parents whose children are in neonatal services as well as new investment in local children’s palliative and end of life care services including children’s hospices.

Department for Work and Pensions

Refuges: Females

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many nominated members of staff there are employed in job centres across the UK whose role it is to liaise with women's refuges in their local area.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. This includes those who are, or have been, victims of domestic abuse. By summer 2019, we will have domestic abuse specialists in every Jobcentre to further raise awareness of domestic abuse, support work coaches and act as a nominated contact for local domestic abuse partners. We are working closely with partner organisations to develop the training for Jobcentre staff to effectively undertake the role. The training will be delivered in collaboration with a key partner organisation, with the first events planned to take place later this year. Our Work Coaches are there to provide the right support to all vulnerable claimant groups, including survivors of domestic abuse. To support them to do this, the Department ensures that they are equipped to do their role by providing them with the expertise and training to undertake this role effectively. All Work Coaches receive training on how to support claimants with complex needs, which includes a module on identifying, supporting and signposting victims of abuse. In addition, Jobcentre sites have access to and make regular use of a complex needs toolkit available at a local level. This toolkit includes information on both local and national supporting agencies.

Occupational Pensions

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of lowering the age limit for pensions auto-enrolment to 18.

Guy Opperman: The Government is committed to continuing to make workplace pension saving the norm for young people. As part of the 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment, we set out our ambition to reduce the minimum age threshold from age 22 to 18 – enabling more people to begin to save. Reducing the eligibility criteria for employers to enrol workers to age 18 helps to reinforce the norm that the majority of young people will start to pay into a pension from their first pay cheque. It will also simplify the workforce assessment for employers: all eligible workers would benefit from automatic enrolment from age 18 whoever employs them.The Government recognises that employers, payroll and other delivery partners need time to plan for these changes. Employers need time to adjust to costs over the coming years before the Review proposals are implemented. We also want to understand properly the impact of the April 2019 contribution increase before committing to a timetable for the proposed changes.

Children: Maintenance

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of paying parents using the child maintenance service are in arrears.

Justin Tomlinson: Paying Parents using the Child Maintenance Service can either arrange the payments between themselves (Direct Pay) or if the parents cannot do this or they don’t pay, the Child Maintenance Service have the Collect & Pay service which can collect and manage the payments between the parents. The Department has no knowledge of what has been paid for Paying Parents using the Direct Pay service as parents manage the payments between themselves. In September 2018, 65% of Child Maintenance Service arrangements were Direct Pay. The Department does hold data on compliance rates for Paying Parents using the Collect and Pay Service which can be seen in ‘Table 7: Paying Parent Compliance’ of the Child Maintenance Service statistics: August 2013 – September 2018.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-august-2013-to-september-2018-experimental Please note that the table does not accurately represent the proportion of Paying Parents who are in arrears. “Compliance” means that the paying parent paid some child maintenance in the last three months. So a parent may have paid some child maintenance but may still be in arrears. If a parent is not compliant they have not paid any of their liability in the quarter.

Universal Credit

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research her Department conducted to establish the link between foodbank use and the roll-out of universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: We have always said that there are many reasons that people use foodbanks. However, we have listened to feedback on how we can best support our claimants and acted quickly, making improvements, such as extending advances, removing waiting days, and introducing housing benefit run-on, that serve to reduce the waiting time for the first payment. These changes are giving support to vulnerable people who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster.

Suicide: Departmental Coordination

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons her Department is not represented on the Government's cross-departmental strategy on suicide prevention.

Sarah Newton: DWP is represented on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Delivery Group through the Department’s Chief Psychologist. The Department contributed to the most recent annual progress report of the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy published in January 2019.

Work Capability Assessment

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending her Department's Statement of Fitness for Work Med 3 form so that a GP of a sick or disabled benefit claimant could be asked directly if there would be a substantial risk of harm if that claimant was found fit for work following a work capability assessment.

Sarah Newton: The Statement of Fitness for Work form (Med 3) or ‘fit note’ is issued for Statutory Sick Pay or Social Security purposes. Registered Medical Practitioners record their assessment of whether their patient is ‘not fit’ or ‘may be fit’ for work if their medical condition or illness impacts on their ability to work. There is no difference in the way the form is completed for Statutory Sick Pay or to support a claim to health related benefits. Part of the role of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) decision maker is to decide whether finding the claimant fit for work or Work Related Activity would trigger substantial risk of harm. In making their decision, they consider the advice from the healthcare professional (HCP) who carried out the assessment, as well as any evidence provided by the claimant’s GP or any other supporting professional. It is important to note that while the GPs’ primary role is to diagnose and treat their patients, the role of the HCP is to assess the effects of a claimant’s illness on their ability to perform everyday work-related activities.

Winter Fuel Payments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2019 to Question 220800 on Winter Fuel Payments, how many recipients returned their Winter Fuel Payment in the most recent 12 months for which data are available.

Guy Opperman: The DWP does not routinely collect data relating to returned Winter Fuel Payments because payments can be returned to any Pension Centre. The DWP does though keep a record of customers who contact us to relinquish their Winter Fuel Payment and in 2018 that number was 150.

Carer's Allowance

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to identify eligible carers who do not claim carer's allowance.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to advertise carer's allowance to people who may be eligible to claim the benefit.

Sarah Newton: Information on Carer’s Allowance (CA) is widely available, including online through Gov.uk and to those who visit Jobcentres. Organisations supporting carers, and other stakeholders and partners, also make information available on carers benefits, including CA. Carers can also now claim CA online. Since this option was made available in October 2013 over a million people have claimed this way. Over 80% of customers claim CA online every week and over 90% of those have said they are happy with the online service.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information the Government considered when setting the value of Contributions Based Job Seekers Allowance entitlement at £73.10 for people over 25.

Alok Sharma: The rates for Jobseeker’s Allowance were originally based on the equivalent provisions for Income Support, which were in force in October 1996, when Jobseeker’s Allowance replaced the element of that benefit for those who are unemployed, on low or no income or other financial means and are available and looking for work. The rate has been reviewed since then in line with the relevant legislation for the uprating of benefits.

Universal Credit

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of requiring the owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for universal credit on the ability of those people to complete their applications in a timely manner.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to the response to Question 222037 answered on the 20 February 2019.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department paid from the public purse to claimants of personal independence payment during the appeals process in each of the the last two years.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. There are nine possible Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decisions, all of which carry the right to a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) and appeal. If PIP has been awarded but appealed, that rate will be paid until the appeal is decided.

Personal Independence Payment: Chronic Illnesses

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to give indefinite awards of personal independence payment to people with degenerative conditions.

Sarah Newton: Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be reviewed. Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit to ensure that awards remain correct where needs may change and that we maintain contact with the claimant, both features that are missing from its predecessor Disability Living Allowance. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review after ten years. In August 2018, we introduced updated guidance for case managers which will ensure that those people who receive the highest level of support under PIP, and where their needs are unlikely to change or may get worse, will now receive an ongoing award with a light touch review at the ten-year point. In line with PIP’s aim to be needs-based rather than condition-based, the change to the guidance is not condition specific. However, we believe the changes will ensure that those with severe and/or progressive conditions receive the most appropriate award duration that reflects their condition and the needs arising.

Personal Independence Payment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to introduce online application forms for personal independence payments which allow claimants to scan and upload their documents.

Sarah Newton: The Government’s response to recommendation 14 from the second independent review of the Personal Independence Payment assessment, published on 18 December 2017 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-pip-assessment-second-independent-review-government-response), sets out the Government’s position in relation to online applications to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The response sets out that we are committed to test and learn activity following small-scale pilots on applying for PIP online and that we are exploring ways to make better use of data-sharing across all health and disability benefits so as to provide more personalised support and services.

Motability

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants lost their mobility entitlement for a motability car on moving from the disabled living allowance in the last two years.

Sarah Newton: The table below provides information on the 357,310 claimants previously in receipt of the higher mobility rate under Disability Living Allowance (DLA) who underwent reassessment within the last two years and their subsequent mobility award on Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Table: PIP mobility component for DLA to PIP reassessment claimants who previously received the higher mobility component under DLA. (1st November 2016 to 31st October 2018). PIP Mobility component after reassessment from DLANo. of ClaimantsEnhanced199,570Standard79,110Nil (but awarded Daily Living)32,090Disallowed post-assessment35,000Disallowed pre-assessment9,390Withdrawn2,160Total re-assessed357,310 While some claimants have lost their entitlement to the higher rate mobility component, 144,000 reassessed DLA claimants who did not previously have the enhanced rate of the mobility component on DLA were subsequently awarded this on PIP. The number of people returning Motability vehicles and the reasons behind this are recorded by Motability. The Department has no right of access to this information as Motability is an independent organisation. It should also be noted that only one third of claimants on the highest rates of mobility choose to join the scheme. Notes:1. Data shows the outcome of the first DWP decision on each PIP claim (i.e. prior to any reconsideration, appeal action and award review), where that decision was made between 1st November 2016 and 31st October 2018.2. For each individual who has a PIP reassessment outcome their PIP entitlement has been compared to their DLA entitlement at the time of their PIP reassessment registration.3. Figures include reassessment outcomes for individuals who were aged between 16 and 64 on 8th April 2013, and include PIP claims made under both normal rules and Special Rules for Terminally Ill (SRTI) people.4. This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.5. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and may not total because of rounding.6. Great Britain only.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 213466, how many complaints were received in relation to the personal independence payment assessment process in each calendar year since 2013.

Sarah Newton: The total number of complaints received by Assessment Providers in relation to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments in each calendar year since 2013 are shown in the table below. YearNumber of PIP AssessmentsNumber of complaintsComplaints as a % of total Assessments201338,4001,3003.452014406,9009,0002.212015682,5004,5000.662016968,1006,8000.7020171,031,6008,9000.872018954,9009,4000.98Source: PIP Assessment Providers’ contractual MIFigures have been rounded to the nearest 100Percentages are calculated from raw data

Universal Credit: West Midlands

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions he has received correspondence from the Mayor for the West Midlands on the (a) roll-out and (b) design of universal credit in the last 12 months.

Alok Sharma: The Department has not received correspondence from the Mayor of the West Midlands on either of these issues in the last 12 months.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in reference to the Answer of 19 July 2018 to Question 162165 on Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy, what the most up to date figures are on the number of people with epilepsy who were in receipt of disability living allowance who (a) did not receive an award as a result of a reassessment for personal independence payment and (b) then received an award at either mandatory reconsideration or on appeal.

Sarah Newton: The information requested for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessments is shown in the table below.Personal Independence Payment (PIP) initial decisions, Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) and appeals for claimants with a primary disabling condition of Epilepsy, April 2013 to September 2018, Great Britain ReassessmentsInitial Decisions28,880Initial decisions - disallowed due to failing the assessment15,600Of which MR - new decision award changed1,200Appeal - decision overturned3,610 Under PIP, 27 per cent of working age claimants with epilepsy recorded as their primary disabling condition receive the highest level of support compared to 6 per cent under Disability Living Allowance when PIP was introduced.NotesData is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics. Question 162165 defined epilepsy as people who have Epilepsy Partial seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months) and Generalised seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months) listed as their main condition. To answer this question the definition of epilepsy has been expanded to include the following five additional conditions: Cataplexy, Generalised seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months), Narcolepsy, Partial seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months) and Seizures - unclassified.PIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants.Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.Appeals data taken from the DWP PIP computer system’s management information. Therefore this data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.Decisions overturned at appeal may include a number of appeals that have been lapsed (which is where DWP changed the decision after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at Tribunal).Some decisions which are changed at MR, and where the claimant continues to appeal for a higher PIP award, are then changed again at tribunal appeal. Therefore the number of people who had a decision changed at MR and the number of people who had a decision changed at tribunal appeal cannot be added together.Claimants who have received benefit decisions more recently may not yet have had time to complete the claimant journey and progress to appeal.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with epilepsy who have applied or been reassessed for personal independence payment in the last twelve months have received (a) daily living only, (b) mobility only and (c) both daily living and mobility.

Sarah Newton: Between 1st November 2017 and 31st October 2018, the last year for which data is available, 8,480 claimants with epilepsy were awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Of these claimants, 540 received the daily living component only, 4,300 received the mobility component only and 3,640 received both the daily living and the mobility components. Data shows the outcome of the first DWP decision on each claim (i.e. prior to any reconsideration, appeal action and award review), where that decision was made between 1st November 2017 and 31st October 2018.Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.The disability subgroup of Epilepsy in the PIP Computer System includes Cataplexy, Generalised seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months), Generalised seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months), Narcolepsy, Partial seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months), Partial seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months) and Seizures - unclassified.PIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants, and is for both new claims and DLA reassessment claims.This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and may not total because of rounding.Great Britain only.

Universal Credit

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report entitled A Bright Start, published by Save the Children and the Centre of Social Justice in November 2018, if she will make it her policy to raise the childcare element of universal credit from 85 per cent to 100 per cent of eligible costs to support families on low incomes.

Justin Tomlinson: The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work. The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours. To overcome this barrier to employment we increased the level of support for childcare costs within Universal Credit from 70 per cent to 85 per cent. This means that working families claiming Universal Credit can reclaim up to 85 per cent of their eligible childcare costs each month up to a limit of £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children. Where upfront childcare costs or deposits may prevent a claimant from starting work, jobcentres have been instructed to use the Flexible Support Fund to support the transition into work. When parents have good reason for late reporting of their childcare costs, the Department is piloting a more flexible approach to enable parents to be reimbursed at a later point.

Universal Credit: Housing

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to universal credit recipients who have an alternative payment arrangement involving payment of housing costs to the landlord and who also have an income from work and are subject to deductions due to the taper, in how many cases (a) is the maximum housing element paid to the landlord with deductions due to the taper reducing only the remaining amount paid to the claimant, (b) is the deduction applied only to the amount paid directly to the landlord and (c) are both of these amounts reduced by the deduction, in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. By way of clarification, the amount of Universal Credit payable is first calculated net of any deductions, irrespective of whether there is a Managed Payment to Landlord in place. Where the amount calculated is greater than housing costs, the Managed Payment to Landlord will be for the full amount of housing costs with the claimant receiving the remaining amount of Universal Credit; where the amount of Universal Credit calculated is less than housing costs, that amount is paid directly to the landlord and the claimant receives no payment of Universal Credit.

Department for Work and Pensions: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff employed by her Department are apprentices.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP have 3.0% of their staff employed as apprentices based on the last quarterly figures as at 30 November 2018.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2019 to Question 220104 on Social Security Benefits: Fraud, if she will make it her policy to record which police forces her Department has received information from.

Justin Tomlinson: The system employed by the Department to manage fraud and compliance referrals does not have the facility to capture this information. Making alterations to this system would incur a cost to the taxpayer which the Department cannot justify as it has no business reason to add this functionality.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households have been affected by each reform to working-age benefits and tax credits since 2010.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants have not been in receipt of any benefits in the 180 days following a sanction decision.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Appeals

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average cost to the public purse is of each universal credit appeal.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Appeals

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit appeals her Department has challenged in each year since its introduction.

Alok Sharma: The number of Universal Credit appeals that the Department has challenged in each year since its introduction can be found in the table below: 20152016201720182019044101 The above information has been provided on the assumption that the reference to “challenged” means “asked the First-tier Tribunal to either set their decision aside, or to grant permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal” and that “appeals” refers to “decisions of the First-tier Tribunal, adverse to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions”.

Universal Credit: Appeals

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit appeals her Department has lost in each year since the introduction of that benefit.

Alok Sharma: Statistics on the number and proportion of Universal Credit appeals cleared at a hearing where the decision was in favour of the claimant, are published in Table SSCS_3 of the quarterly statistical publication, “Tribunals and gender recognition certificate statistics quarterly: July to September 2018”, published by the Ministry of Justice and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics

Employment and Support Allowance: Medical Examinations

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of days have been for her Department to re-assess entitlement to employment and support allowance from that allowance being granted in (a) Barnley, (b) south Yorkshire and (c) nationally in each year since 2010.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Carers: Females

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the retirement age for part-time female workers that are carers for (a) older people and (b) family members with disabilities.

Guy Opperman: Since the removal of the Default Retirement Age in 2011, there is no formal retirement age, and people are encouraged to work for as long as they wish and are able. This will ensure as people live longer healthier lives that they can build the income they need for a secure future. We are aware that the time people leave the labour market will differ between individuals, and will be affected by a host of factors, including health, caring responsibilities and other factors. It would be impossible to take account of all factors in setting the State Pension age. In the Government’s 2016 State Pension age Review, Independent Reviewer John Cridland, concluded that disadvantaged groups should be assisted through the working age benefit system rather than through changes to the State Pension age.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has any (a) formal and (b) informal sharing agreements with police forces in relation to referrals relating to suspected benefit fraud.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) National Disclosure Unit provides a service for the whole of the UK, handling all requests to disclose information to police forces and other law enforcement agencies. This service is provided under the Data Protection Act, Section 29 (3) for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime, and is done to a standard set out in a Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers. If, during the course of a Police investigation there is a suggestion of a DWP related offence, as with any third party, there is an established gateway in place for the Police to refer this information to DWP. Evidence received from a 3rd party can be used as a starting point for an investigation. However, DWP takes great care to corroborate any information received to substantiate (or otherwise) any allegation to ensure DWP is directing its resources appropriately.

State Retirement Pensions: Uprating

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) EU and (b) Irish citizens that have worked in the UK will continue to have their pensions uprated in line with UK pensioners in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if she will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: As the Government set out in its Policy Paper ‘Citizens’ Rights – EU citizens in the UK and UK Nationals in the EU’ we wish to secure continued reciprocal arrangements covering the up-rating of State Pensions even in the event of a no deal exit. UK State Pensions will be uprated, as they are currently, for those recipients living in EU countries including Ireland for 2019/2020.

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has accrued to the public purse of deductions from universal credit claimants' standard allowance.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The aim of the deductions policy in Universal Credit is to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their gas, electricity and water cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of these essential services. Deductions can be taken from a claimant’s payment of Universal Credit as set out in legislation and can also include monies owed to the public purse, such as repaying a Social Fund loan, or recovering arrears of Council Tax.

Jobcentres: Food Banks

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her Department's policy not to permit job centre staff to issue food bank referral forms to benefit claimants.

Justin Tomlinson: Jobcentre managers have discretion to work with a wide range of external partners, including food banks, where they are invited to do so. The Department has long-standing guidance in place which allows staff to signpost customers in writing to a food bank where they have expressed an interest in using one and if all sources of statutory support have been exhausted. We are also exploring how we can build on current good practice to make it as easy as possible for food banks to identify and refer back to the local Jobcentre any customers who may, for a variety of reasons, not be receiving the full formal support to which they are entitled.

Home Office

Immigrants: Children

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2019 to Question 216277, if his Department will start to collect data on how many children are living in households with parents subject to no recourse to public funds.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2019 to Question 216277, for what reasons his Department does not collect data on how many children are living in households with parents subject to no recourse to public funds.

Caroline Nokes: The Government has no current plans to start collecting this data. No recourse to public funds is a general restriction applied to the majority of migrants whether here as short-term visitors or with a view to settlement. The restriction can be removed following application for those with a right to remain on a specified human rights basis who would otherwise be destitute. It is not applied to those granted leave for international protection reasons and certain other vulnerable migrants.Migrants who remain here without leave will not have access to public funds. The nature of illegal entry or overstaying make it difficult to accurately be confident on the numbers of children in these households, but local authorities do collect data on those supported under s.17 of the Children Act and where migrant families are involved this data is provided to the Home Office. The Home Office works regularly with local authorities to help lift the restriction for those who are eligible. In addition, immigration legislation does not prevent the provision of necessary support and assistance in order to safeguard the wellbeing of children.

Immigrants

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February to Question 216277, how many change of circumstance forms relating to no recourse to public funds his Department received in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Caroline Nokes: These statistics are not included in published migration statistics.The Government has no current plans to collect and collate the statistics in the manner requested and to do so would incur disproportionate cost to the public purse.

Members: Correspondence

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter of 31 January 2019 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central addressed to the Minister for Immigration on the matter of a constituent Mr Soofi.

Caroline Nokes: The Rt Hon Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, replied substantively on 20 February 2019 as this was a matter for Foreign and Commonwealth Office response.

Armed Conflict: British Nationals Abroad

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal combatants returning from conflicts abroad have been prosecuted in each year since 2011.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the offences with which each returning ISIS combatant, who has been prosecuted, has been charged with in each year since 2011.

Mr Ben Wallace: Approximately 40 individuals have been prosecuted on their return from Syria, either because of offences committed overseas or for activity linked to their involvement in conflict overseas. The offences cover TACT offences and non-TACT offences, but are only included if they were the result of investigations into terrorist-related activity. Not all of the convictions relate to activity in Syria or even TACT offences. All 40 were found guilty of the offences they were charged with.We do not comment on specific operational matters in order to protect our national security so as not to reveal operational tactics. It would therefore be inappropriate to break down these figures further or to release information about the specific cases involved.Please note that the safety and security of our country, our people and our communities remains the Government’s number one priority.Around 900 people of national security concern travelled from the UK to engage in the conflict in Syria and Iraq. Of these, approximately 20% have been killed while overseas, and around 40% have returned to the UK.The majority of those who have returned, did so in the earlier stages of the conflict, and were investigated on their return. A significant proportion of these individuals are assessed as no longer being of national security concern.Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.

Home Office: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2019 to Question 187307 on Home Office: ICT, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of the 352 people classed as contingent labour.

Victoria Atkins: The Immigration Platform Technologies programme is made up of a number of different resource types. There are civil servants, contingent labour who are brought in through the Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) framework agreement, and suppliers who are contracted through other Crown Commercial Services Framework agreements (GCloud and DOS).Our response to the previous Question, combined contingent labour and suppliers, which has given an inaccurate and misleading response to the initial enquiry. The breakdown of these respective costs is as follows:Contingent labour costs represent a £0.22m full year costCivil Servant costs represent a £1.12m full year costSupplier resource costs are £44.23m full year cost

Home Office: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2019 to Question 187307 on Home Office: ICT, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of (a) agency fees and (b) direct staff cost for the 352 people classed as contingent labour.

Victoria Atkins: The amount paid as agency fees is included in day rates of individuals and so not possible to extrapolate

Immigrants: Detainees

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2019 to Question 218833 on Immigrants: Detainees, what the cost was of the escorting contract for immigration detainees in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office contract for the provision of escorting services for immigration detainees as provided by Tascor E&D Services Ltd until 30th April 2018, and by Mitie Care and Custody Ltd from 1st May 2018.The operating costs of these contracts is commercially confidential and public disclosure would prejudice the commercial interests of the Home Office and its suppliers. However, the Home Office publishes payments in excess of £25K on its website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-spending

Refugees: Finance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that newly approved refugees are not subject to a break in support when their asylum support ends after 28 days.

Caroline Nokes: The Government has implemented a number of initiatives to enable refugees to access benefits and housing promptly once any support they have been provided by the Home Office ends 28 days after the grant of their status. These include providing a National Insurance number and the offer of an appointment with their nearest Jobcentre Plus office, so that the refugees can make a claim for mainstream benefits provided by the Department of Work and Pensions.Refugees are also eligible to receive assistance with housing from their local authority, in the same way as British Citizens or other permanent residents of the UK and are treated as having a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Asylum accommodation providers are under a contractual duty to refer these cases to the appropriate local authority.

Immigration: EEA Nationals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish his Department's guidance on how EEA citizens will be able to demonstrate their right to reside after 29 March 2019 in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Caroline Nokes: The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for demonstrating eligibility to services for EEA nationals living in the UK will not change before the introduction of the future skills-based immigration system in 2021, including in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal.This position is set out in the Government’s White Paper on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system and the Citizens’ Rights Policy Paper published on 6 December 2018. Guidance for EEA nationals, employers and service providers will be updated to reiterate this.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department will take and what benchmarks his Department will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the EU Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes: As part of our commitment to improving the end to end process for applicants, feedback will be sought via an online survey, alongside other feedback mechanisms we have in place.An example of where we have achieved this would be during Private Beta 2, the survey was undertaken voluntarily by applicants after they had submitted their application form. In total, 1,330 PB2 applicants completed the survey, which covered a variety of elements from communications to the different stages in the application process. More information can be found in the Private Beta 2 report below:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772139/EU_Settlement_Scheme_Private_Beta_2_Report.pdf

Benjamin Gudza

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard the welfare of Benjamin Gudza, a resident of the Barnsley Central constituency, who has been detained at Morton Hall detention centre and is due to be deported to Zimbabwe.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to make adjustments for Benjamin Gudza’s learning difficulties and mobility problems, while he is in detention at Morton Hall.

Caroline Nokes: The welfare and safety of all detainees are matters of the utmost importance. We are clear that detention and removal must be carried out with dignity and respect, and we expect nothing but the highest standards of care from our commercial partners.The welfare of detainees and the conditions of detention are governed by the Detention Centre Rules 2001and must additionally meet the published Operating Standards for IRCs and the comprehensive guidance set out in published Detention Services Orders. This collective framework provides guidance on issues associated with this case.We undertake regular reviews of detention to ensure it remains lawful, appropriate and proportionate. When an individual’s circumstances change or new information comes to light which mean they are no longer suitable to be detained, their release is arranged.

Deportation: Zimbabwe

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment his Department has made of the risk to Zimbabwean nationals facing deportation to Zimbabwe.

Caroline Nokes: All asylum and human rights applications from Zimbabwean nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.The Country Policy and Information Note Zimbabwe: Opposition to the government published in April 2018 (available on Gov.uk) outlines our position. We are aware of the situation in Zimbabwe and are keeping it under review, however caselaw has established that a state of civil war and/or civil unrest is not enough, in itself, to provide for a grant of asylum. A person needs to show a risk above and beyond those general inherent risks.The April 2018 Country Policy and Information Note is in the process of being updated, incorporating recommendations from a review commissioned by the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information. This will be published in due course.Where a decision has been made that a person does not require international protection, removal is only enforced when we and the courts conclude that it is safe to do so, with a safe route of return.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Governments proposals for European Temporary Leave to Remain status will require primary legislation.

Caroline Nokes: In the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in a no deal scenario, we will seek to end free movement as soon as possible through the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill.Once enacted, this will repeal the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, which currently implement free movement in UK law. EEA and Swiss citizens and their close family members then arriving in the UK who wish to stay longer than three months will need to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain, for which, for a no deal scenario, provision will be made in the Immigration Rules in due course.

Antisemitism: Crime

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many antisemitic crimes have been reported to the police in the last 12 months.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of Hate crime offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. Data on religious hate crimes are published in Table B1 in the Hate crime Data Tables and can be found here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/748083/hate-crime-1718-hosb2018-tables.ods

Home Office: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Victoria Atkins: The current number of apprentices in employment at the Home Office and undertaking an apprenticeship is 335. As a proportion, this is 1% of our workforce.

Terrorism: Birmingham

Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans he to meet the families of the 21 innocent victims of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings to discuss their campaign for justice; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Birmingham pub bombings were a dreadful and cowardly attack on innocent people. I will of course meet with my honourable friend and Justie4the21 to discuss their campaign. It would be inappropriate to make a statement on the Birmingham pub bombings given inquest hearings are due to start shortly.

Domestic Abuse

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support his Department makes available for families experiencing (a) adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse and (b) child-on-parent violence.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to tackling all forms of domestic abuse. On 21 January 2019, we published a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill alongside a wide-ranging package of measures to protect and support victims. Our statutory definition of domestic abuse recognises that abuse can also involve wider family members, including parental abuse by an adolescent or grown child or between older siblings.In 2015 the Government published an information guide on adolescent to parent violence and abuse, which provides materials and advice to support professionals in the police, the health system, the justice system, the education system, youth services.The Government has also committed to draw together best practice and develop training and resources to improve the response to victims of adolescent to parent violence.

Domestic Abuse

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support his Department makes available for siblings in families experiencing (a) adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse and (b) child-on-parent violence.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to tackling all forms of domestic abuse. On 21 January 2019, we published a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill alongside a wide-ranging package of measures to protect and support victims. Our statutory definition of domestic abuse recognises that abuse can also involve wider family members, including parental abuse by an adolescent or grown child or between older siblings.In 2015 the Government published an information guide on adolescent to parent violence and abuse, which provides materials and advice to support professionals in the police, the health system, the justice system, the education system, youth services.The Government has also committed to draw together best practice and develop training and resources to improve the response to victims of adolescent to parent violence.

Domestic Abuse

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reported incidents of (a) adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse and (b) child on parent violence were reported in (i) the St Helens local authority area, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the UK in each year since 2010.

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether incidents of (a) adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse and (b) child-on-parent violence are recorded as domestic abuse.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collect data from police forces in England and Wales on the number of offences recorded by the police related to domestic abuse. This collection is based on the government definition of domestic violence and abuse, which is:“any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological, physical, sexual, economic and emotional forms of abuse. Controlling behaviour is a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape, and regulating their everyday behaviour. Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten a person”.Therefore, offences in which an adolescent is violent or abusive to a parent would be recorded only for those adolescents aged 16 and over.It is not possible to separately identify incidents where an adolescent is violent or abusive to a parent within the domestic abuse data held centrally.

British Nationality

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of deprivation of citizenship have been (a) considered and (b) confirmed in each year for which data is available.

Mr Ben Wallace: The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so. Section 40(3) allows the Secretary of State to deprive a person who has obtained citizenship by naturalisation or registration, where the Secretary of State is satisfied that citizenship was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of material factThree reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017 and 2018, which provide figures for section 40(2) deprivations, those where the Home Office has deemed that to deprive individuals of their citizenship is conducive to the public good. Figures for May 2010 to December 2014 are included in the 2015 report, figures for 2015 are in the 2017 report and the annual figures for 2016 and 2017 are listed in the 2018 report. The links to these reports are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473603/51973_Cm_9151_Transparency_Accessible.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-and-investigatory-powers-transparency-report-2018This published data relates to cases where deprivation decisions have been taken, data relating to cases considered but not progressed is not available. Data relating to deprivation on fraud grounds under section 40 (3) is not currently published.

Terrorism: Finance

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that private donations from the UK are not used to support and fund terrorism.

Mr Ben Wallace: The UK has a strong reputation for tackling terrorist financing as demonstrat-ed in the UK’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation Report published in December 2018 which gave the UK the highest possible rating on how it tackles terrorist financing.Our approach to countering terrorist finance is multifaceted and we have a range of disruptive tools and capabilities at our disposal to prevent the movement of terrorist finance into and out of the UK.We have strengthened our legislative framework under the Criminal Finances Act 2017, this includes the ability to seize funds held in bank accounts to pre-vent terrorist funding. We also work very closely with the financial sector who, along with other reporting sectors, are required to disclose any suspicions they have concerning terrorist financing to the UK Financial Investigation Unit via Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). The Joint Money Laundering Intelli-gence Task Force (JMLIT) also brings together Government, financial institu-tions and law enforcement to exchange and analyse information to better de-tect and prevent the movement of terrorist funds.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his EU Settlement Scheme: Statement of Intent, when he plans to publish details on the immigration status of (a) EU citizen family members and (b) spouses of British citizen Crown servants; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: As noted in the Statement of Intent on the EU Settlement Scheme, the Gov-ernment is considering carefully how to ensure that EU citizen spouses and other family members of British citizen Crown servants are not unfairly disadvantaged by absences from the UK as a result of overseas postings. We will publish the relevant details shortly.

Immigration: Parents

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he applies the same standards for mothers and fathers when assessing Article 8 applications for leave to remain.

Caroline Nokes: Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights falls within the scope of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. These rules do not differentiate between mothers and fathers or husbands, wives and civil partners, referring only to parents and partners.There are no requirements under Appendix FM that are particular to one parental role or the other.

Visas: Overseas Visitors

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for visitor visas his Department has received since 2005.

Caroline Nokes: Information on Visitor entry clearance visa applications and outcomes (granted, refused, withdrawn, lapsed) is published on a quarterly basis in the Home Office’s ‘Immigration Statistics’, Visas data tables volume 1, table vi_01_q, latest edition with data up to Q3 (July-September) 2018 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2018/list-of-tables#visasCorresponding information for Q4 (October-December) 2018 is planned to be published on 28 February.

Police: Staff

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were employed in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins.Data on the number of police officers in England and Wales, as at 31 March each year and going back to March 2007, can be found in the accompanying Open Data Table:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629362/open-data-table-police-workforce.odsThe latest published figures, representing the picture as at 30 September 2018, can be accessed in ‘Table 1’ of the accompanying data tables here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2018

Immigration: EU Nationals

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applicants were unable to complete the application process for settled status during the second phase of the trial of the EU Settlement Scheme.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applicants were granted pre-settled status during the second phase of the trial of the EU Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The EU Settlement Scheme opened on a trial basis at the end of August 2018 and a wider public beta commenced in January 2019. In total across all the test phases we have granted over 100,000 applications. We have pub-lished a report on second testing phase which sets out further details of the outcomes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-private-beta-2/eu-settlement-scheme-private-beta-testing-phase-2-report.

Domestic Abuse

Gillian Keegan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle domestic abuse.

Victoria Atkins: On 21 January we published a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill, containing a ground-breaking series of measures to promote awareness, support victims, tackle perpetrators and improve services.We have also published a package of non-legislative actions that will see further support for children, the elderly, disabled, male and migrant victims and those in the LGBTQ community.We have already committed over £100million to tackle violence against women and girls, including £20m for victims of domestic abuse and £40 million for safe accommodation services.

Fire and Rescue Services: Staff

Jenny Chapman: What assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the number of firefighters on fire service capacity to respond to emergency calls.

Mr Nick Hurd: Recent data show that the average total response time to primary fires has remained the same as last year, and for secondary fires has increased by 1 second since last year.Total response times have risen gradually since 1994 but are now starting to stabilise.Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work.

*No heading*

John Spellar: What plans he has to make changes to the Disclosure and Barring Service after the Supreme Court judgment of 30 January 2019.

Victoria Atkins: The judgment found two aspects of the disclosure regime to be incompatible with the Article 8 right to private life.The Government will carefully consider the details of this complex judgment.Any legislative changes will not only conform to the judgment, but will continue to ensure that the disclosure regime supports effective protection for children and vulnerable adults.

*No heading*

Mr Laurence Robertson: What steps he is taking to increase the number of police officers in Gloucestershire.

Mr Nick Hurd: Decisions on the numbers of police officers in a force are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, held to account by the communities they serve.The Gloucestershire PCC has announced he will increased precept by £24 in 2019/20 meaning they will increase funding by £8.5 million compared to 2018/19.

*No heading*

Steve McCabe: What oversight he has of the consultation to merge the role of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner with that of West Midlands Mayor.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government supports the second devolution deal for the West Midlands which envisaged incorporating the role and powers of the PCC into the Mayoralty.A two-stage public consultation is being carried out locally to seek views on the transfer. The conduct of the consultation is a matter for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of staff employed by her Department are apprentices.

John Penrose: I can confirm there is currently one apprentice employed in the Department which accounts for 2% of the London staff. Although slightly under the public sector target of 2.3%, this is due to two apprentices completing their apprenticeships during 2018. A further three apprentices have recently been recruited, which will bring the proportion of apprentices in the department to 6%.

Treasury

Landlords: Taxation

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of landlords in each local authority area who are registered for self-assessment with HM Revenue and Customs.

Mel Stride: The table attached presents the number of individuals who declared income from property on their Self-Assessment tax returns for the 2016-17 tax year, the latest year for which data is available, excluding those who declared income from furnished holiday lettings. Note that (i) these figures are based on tax return data, and not Self-Assessment registrations; and (ii) the locations given in the Table relate to the residences of the individuals with property income, and not the locations of properties from which they declared income. HMRC do not hold information about the total number of landlords and so it is not possible to provide a proportion of the numbers in Self-Assessment against that total.



Self assessment by local authority area
(Word Document, 23.8 KB)

Tax Avoidance: Glasgow North East

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold a meeting with the hon. Member for Glasgow North East on the effect of the IR35 tax reforms on the personal finances of people living in Glasgow North East constituency.

Mel Stride: Unfortunately, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is unable to meet to discuss the off-payroll working rules at this time. The Government will shortly publish a consultation on the reform to the off-payroll working rules in the private sector. Before any legislative changes are made HMRC will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note, assessing the impacts of the policy.

Company Cars: Taxation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to (a) publish a legacy Company Car Tax table for vehicles registered before April 2020 and (b) freeze those rates at 2018-19 levels.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) employers and (b) employees of maintaining current rates of Company Car Tax as a result of the implementation of Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to review the rates of Company Car Tax in light of changes resulting from the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Testing Procedure; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of freezing at 2018-19 levels the rates of Company Car Tax for vehicles registered before the implementation of the Worldwide Harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure in April 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The government has engaged with stakeholders as part of the review of WLTP on vehicle taxes which closed on 17 February. The review sought evidence on how reported carbon dioxide emissions are impacted by the introduction of WLTP and whether any adjustment should be made to Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax from April 2020. Responses to the review are currently being analysed and the government has committed to publishing a response in the spring.

Government Departments: Procurement

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance, what procedures are in place to ensure that Government Departments are tax compliant in foreign jurisdictions.

Mel Stride: The regulations set out in “Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance” do not place government departments under tax obligations in foreign jurisdictions. The 2015 Public Contract Regulations provide public bodies with the powers to exclude suppliers from a procurement where the supplier has been found guilty of breaching its obligations in relation to payment of taxes, and this has been established by a judicial or administrative decision having final effect within the relevant jurisdiction. Any suppliers with tax obligations in foreign jurisdictions are required to certify that they have not been found guilty of breaching those obligations.

Child Trust Fund

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of Child Trust Funds where the addressee has gone away or become unlinked.

John Glen: HMRC does not have records of, nor have they made any estimations of, CTF accounts where the main contact of the CTF has lost their details, or where the main contact is not aware of the details of their CTF. CTF providers are required in legislation to send out regular statements to the registered contact for the account.However, although the primary relationship is between the account provider and the child’s parents, if a parent doesn’t know which provider is managing their child’s account, they can use the following online form to track the account. https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

National Insurance: Young People

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the standard letter sent to 16 year olds that accompanies their National Insurance number.

Mel Stride: The standard letter which HMRC sends to an individual shortly before their sixteenth birthday when they issue their National Insurance number is attached to this answer.



National Insurance number letter
(PDF Document, 653.83 KB)

Taxation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has he made of the effect of trends in the level of staff in HMRC on rates of (a) tax avoidance and (b) tax evasion.

Mel Stride: Information on staff levels and HMRC performance is published in the Annual Report and Accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018. Tax gap estimates are published in HMRC’s report ‘Measuring Tax Gaps: 2018 edition’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps.

Treasury: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Robert Jenrick: The proportion of staff HM Treasury employed as apprentices as of 31st January 2019 was 1.7%. We expect an additional 15 new apprentices to start this financial year, meaning 2.5% of our staff will be new apprentices over the period 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019. This is an increase on last year, which can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2017-to-2018

Agriculture: Inheritance Tax

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims qualified for Inheritance Tax exemption on agricultural property in 2018; what the location was of claim; and what the average income was of the recipients.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were made for Inheritance Tax relief on business assets in 2018, what the average amount was of those claims; and what the average income was of the claimants.

Mel Stride: Claims qualified for Inheritance Tax exemption on agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) in 2018/19 are currently unavailable.

Inheritance Tax

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of beneficiaries of the main residence nil rate band of Inheritance Tax exemption in 2018, (b) where those beneficiaries are located and (c) what is the average income of those beneficiaries was.

Mel Stride: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 26 February 2018 to the Hon. Member for Leeds West for the number of beneficiaries of the main residence nil rate band. Estimates of the location and average income of beneficiaries of the main residence nil rate band in 2018 are not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Patents: Corporation Tax

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were been made for Patent Box corporation tax relief, what the average amount was of those claims; and which companies made those claims.

Mel Stride: The latest National Statistics on usage of the Patent Box were published on 27 September 2018 and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742811/Patent_Box_Statistics_2015-16_and_2016-17_partial.pdf

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were made for Vehicle Excise Duty exemption under the Exemption for Historic Cars relief in 2018, what the average amount was of those claims; and what the average income was of the claimants.

Robert Jenrick: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s vehicle records show there are currently 651,297 vehicles licensed within the historic tax class. This includes 245,970 vehicles where a statutory off-road notification (SORN) has been made. For cars and vans, the exemption is worth between £155 and £255 per year. In 2017-18, HMRC estimate the average exemption for a vehicle in the historic vehicle class was worth £230. The government does not collect information relating to the incomes of registered keepers of vehicles.

Save As You Earn

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average income was of recipients of Income Tax relief under the Save as You Earn tax relief programme in 2018.

John Glen: Information on the income of participants in Save as You Earn is not readily available as it is not collected as part of Save as You Earn returns. It could only be calculated at disproportionate cost.

Royal Bank of Scotland: Asset Protection Agency

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2019 to Question 218386, for what reasons he is not able to publish the full version of the Accession Agreement to the Asset Protection Agency.

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish in unredacted form the Asset Protection Agency’s Framework Document, published on 7 December 2009.

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make public in unredacted form the 9 November 2011 document entitled Approval of the Asset Management Framework and Conflicts Management Policy, and related Modifications to the Accession Agreement.

John Glen: The Asset Protection Agency (APA) was set up in 2009 to manage the Asset Protection Scheme (APS), with the objective of maintaining financial stability and protecting taxpayers’ interests by helping participating banks manage their exposure to high-risk assets. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) signed an ‘Accession Agreement’ to the APS dated 26 November 2009. This Agreement has previously not been published as it contained personal and commercially sensitive information. The Agreement is currently being reviewed with the intention of publication following redaction of any information that remains personal and commercially sensitive. The APA’s Framework Document is currently available in unredacted form at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110533/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/apa.htm The ‘Asset Management Framework and Conflicts Management Policy, and related Modifications to the Accession Agreement’ is also available, with the exception of a number of redactions of commercially sensitive information, at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110533/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/apa.htm

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to Answer of 18 February 2019 to Question 220945 on Voluntary Work: Young People, (a) how much and (b) what proportion of the total budget of the National Citizen Service the Department estimates it will spend on advertising and marketing in the financial year (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Mims Davies: Budgets are set annually for the NCS Programme in collaboration with the NCS Trust Board. We are in the process of setting the NCS budget for 2019/20. As per the NCS Act and Royal Charter, the NCS Annual Accounts, Business Plan and Annual Report are laid in Parliament.

Youth Work: Standards

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress the Government has made on the renewal of the National Occupational Standards for Youth Work which expire in 2020.

Mims Davies: The Government recognises the value of good youth work, this was underlined in the Civil Society Strategy published in August last year. We are aware that the National Occupational Standards are set to expire in 2020 and are discussing this with youth sector organisations.

Commonwealth Games 2022

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) organisations and (b) businesses working for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on becoming accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage employer; and in what format that guidance was issued.

Mims Davies: Guidance for the Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (known as the OC) on accreditation as a Living Wage Employer, will be considered as part of work to agree appropriate contractor policies and pay for the Organising Committee and other Games delivery partners.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many teenagers have (a) commenced and (b) graduated a National Citizenship Service programme in each of the last four years; and what the Government's target was for participation in that programme since 2011.

Mims Davies: 20112012201320142015201620172018Govt target110,00030,00050,00066,43390,000100,000101,000100,000Annual participants8,43426,00339,56657,78975,60592,99699,179TBC2Completed7,14022,24537,26651,51268,76287,26690,010TBC2 1 Government targets are for participation, not completion.2 Final participation figures for 2018 will be confirmed in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Climate Change

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the effect on climate change policy of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Claire Perry: Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. This has not changed. The Government has accelerated no deal preparations to ensure the country is prepared for every eventuality. The recently updated technical notices set out the UK’s firm commitment to addressing climate change, including in a no deal scenario, and provides advice on meeting climate change requirements if there is no withdrawal agreement. EU exit will not affect UK emissions reduction commitments, as our ambitious emissions reduction commitments are enshrined in UK law in the Climate Change Act. Continuing discussion on global challenges such as climate change is in the UK’s and EU’s mutual interest. I have been engaging on behalf of my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State, including supporting international climate negotiations at COP24 where I had many constructive talks with EU counterparts. The importance of cooperation in the fight against climate change was recognised in the joint statement on behalf of President Junker and the Prime Minister on 7 February 2019, and we intend to continue building on this momentum in the coming months. My upcoming speech at a European young leaders’ event is a further example of how we are taking advantage of all opportunities to engage on this subject. We are prepared to intensify our engagement and cooperation with EU institutions and member states, and the Secretary of State stands by ready to engage counterparts.

Electricity Interconnectors: EU Countries

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what systems and rules will govern the (a) allocation, (b) transmission and (c) data sharing for the three electricity interconnectors between the UK, France, the Netherlands and Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: During an Implementation Period trade across the four electricity interconnectors between the UK and EU, to France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, would continue under the same rules as now. The arrangements for trading beyond the Implementation Period are expected to be part of the Future Economic Partnership negotiations. As part of contingency plans for the UK leaving the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement, interconnectors have consulted on the arrangements for cross-border trading that would be in place, and are working closely with regulators and market participants to ensure these are understood.

Wind Power: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of onshore wind sites with planning consent in Wales which could potentially bid in a Contract for Difference auction.

Claire Perry: In order to be eligible to compete for a Contract for Difference (CfD) onshore wind projects must, amongst other requirements, be able to demonstrate that they have received planning consent and have an installed capacity greater than 5MW. The Department tracks the progress of renewable electricity projects in the UK, including onshore wind projects, through the planning system and publishes this data in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), which can be viewed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract

Wind Power: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of new onshore wind installations in Wales in each year since 2010.

Claire Perry: Onshore wind plants in Wales are supported by either the Renewables Obligation (RO) for installations above 5 MW generation capacity or Feed in Tariff (FITs) for smaller installations. The table below shows the number of plants installed in Wales each year that are supported by each scheme. RO closed to new applicants from 1 April 2017 with the exception of eligible generators that applied for a grace period. Wales – onshore wind plants installed in yearYearRO installationsCapacity (MW)FITs installationsCapacity (MW)Total installationsCapacity (MW)201019.1250.2269.32011231.8492.45134.12012243.21465.214848.42013268.15510.15778.2201418.113021.913130.02015122.17913.68035.720163248.36517.368265.520177104.0109.417113.42018156.841.9558.7 Source: OFGEM ROC register and BEIS sub-regional Feed-in Tariff Statistics.

Corallian Energy: Poole Bay

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on wildlife of extending the Corallian ENSCO-72 oil rig drilling period in Poole bay.

Claire Perry: Extensions to the Colter appraisal well environmental approvals were requested because of weather delays during drilling operations at the rig’s previous location and during the tow to the Poole Bay site. The relevant environmental consultees, Natural England, the Marine Management Organisation and the Environment Agency, were consulted in relation to the proposed extensions. The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), is content that there are no sustainable objections to the proposals and that the extensions would not result in any significant environmental impact.

Manufacturing Industries: Research

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of additional (a) incentives, (b) capital allowances, and (c) financial support for research and development to support the manufacturing industry.

Richard Harrington: We are in regular dialogue with companies, business organisations and other stakeholders on how best to support the UK manufacturing sector in a way that delivers value for money for the British taxpayer. Our modern Industrial Strategy will ensure the UK remains one of the most competitive locations in the world for manufacturing investment.We are investing over £600m in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and up to £167m in our Made Smarter industrial digitalisation programme. We have increased the permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance from £200,000 to £1 million for all qualifying investment in plant and machinery made from January 2019 to December 2020 to help stimulate business investment. This will help UK manufacturers develop, adopt and exploit new technologies, and invest in the skills crucial to future success in international markets.We are making unprecedented increases in R&D and are aiming for 2.4% of GDP to be spent on R&D by 2027 to make the UK the world’s most innovative economy. We have made significant investment into scientific research and development in the manufacturing sector through Waves 1 and 2 of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). Some examples of this include: £246m under the Faraday Challenge that helps UK businesses to seize the opportunities presented by the transition to a low carbon economy; £188m for medicines manufacture to develop first-of-a-kind technologies; and £26m for the manufacturing of future materials for advanced manufacturing sectors.In the most recent Budget, we also announced up to £121m under the Manufacturing Made Smarter Challenge to support the transformation of manufacturing through digitally-enabled technologies, subject to business case approval, and industry co-investment.Finally, Government and industry have committed around £1 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, to research, develop and commercialise the next generation of low carbon technologies through the period 2013-2023, keeping the UK at the cutting edge of low carbon automotive innovations.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Apprentices

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Richard Harrington: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy currently employs 80 apprentices.

Vauxhall Motors

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 11 February 2019 to Question 216983 on Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries, whether Vauxhall has (a) applied successfully, (b) applied unsuccessfully and (c) not applied for support through those programmes conducted independently of the Government.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Bellwin Scheme: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received from the Greater Manchester combined authority on financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme from July 2018 to date.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has provided funds through the Bellwin scheme to the Greater Manchester combined authority from July 2018 to date.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list all discretionary payments made by his Department through the Bellwin scheme of emergency financial assistance to local authorities from May 2015 to date.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) financial assistance and (b) non-financial assistance his Department has provided to the Greater Manchester combined authority in response to the Moors Fire from July 2018 to date.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Manchester Evening News article, Greater Manchester is still owed £1 million by the government for battling last summer's moorland blazes, published on 6 February 2018, when his Department plans to issue its response to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s application for funding under the Bellwin Scheme.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Manchester Evening News article, Greater Manchester is still owed £1 million by the Government for battling last summer's moorland blazes, published on 6 February 2018, what the timeframe is for the Government to respond to an application for funds under the Bellwin Scheme.

James Brokenshire: The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has made an application to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government for financial help through the Bellwin Scheme in respect of the additional costs incurred for battling last summer’s moorland blazes. The application is being considered by both the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office who are the Department with responsibility for fire. A decision on that application is expected soon.The table below sets out the Bellwin payments that have been made to local authorities between May 2015 and December 2018. BELLWIN PAYMENTS 2015-16 to 2018-19YEAR OF PAYMENTLOCAL AUTHORITYGRANT PAID, £2015-16 Total for year 02016-17Allerdale Borough Council218,274 Bury Council111,490 Calderdale Council1,029,731 Carlisle City Council377,912 Chorley Council74,238 City of York Council170,700 Cumbria County Council2,185,838 Eden District Council23,077 Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service63,123 North Yorkshire County Council176,449 North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority302,982 Northumberland County Council1,082,555 Ribble Valley Borough Council50,903 Rochdale Borough Council139,674 Salford City Council80,485 Selby District Council13,740 South Lakeland177,581 District Council Wyre Council15,701   Total for year 6,294,4532017-18Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council6,753,849  Total for year6,753,8492018-19 (to date)North Norfolk District Council8,825 Scarborough Borough Council171,471 Waveney District Council88,280   Total for year 268,576Total over last 4 years 13,316,878*Payments may not necessarily be in the same financial year as the incidents occurred. The amount claimed is net of threshold and grant rate.

Bellwin Scheme: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Manchester Evening News article, Greater Manchester is still owed £1 million by the government for battling last summer's moorland blazes, published on 6 February 2018, what discussions she has with the Prime Minister on the payment of funds through the Bellwin Scheme to Greater Manchester combined authority.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 12 February 2019



Greater Manchester’s application for financial help for the additional costs incurred for battling last summer’s moorland blazes is being considered by both the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office which is the Department with responsibility for fire. A decision on that application is expected soon.

Bellwin Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what advice the Cabinet Office provides his Department on payment to local authorities of funds through the Bellwin Scheme.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 12 February 2019



The Cabinet Office does not provide advice to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on payment to local authorities of funds through the Bellwin Scheme as the operation of the scheme is a matter for the Department.

Local Plans

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the merits of awarding material planning status to adopted local plans which are awaiting full inspection and which meet the objectively assessed need; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: A local plan cannot be adopted by a local planning authority until it has been tested at examination by an independent Inspector and found to be sound.The revised National Planning Policy Framework is clear that authorities may give weight to relevant policies in emerging plans according to their stage of preparation; the extent to which there are unresolved objectives; and the degree of consistency with the Framework.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Bullying

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in his Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.

Jake Berry: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.In our most recent People Survey, 11 per cent of respondents, on average, told us that they'd experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey.Whilst this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that certain groups of staff are more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than others. This includes staff members with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they'd been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.We are strengthening the routes for staff to report bullying and harassment to ensure that all staff are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures are positive and inclusive.The high level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates of bullying and harassment, were published last December on gov.uk.Each spring the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and made available on gov.uk.Civil Service People Survey 2017: resultsLong-term health status is captured in the People Survey through questions J04 and J04A. J04 asks if the individual has a "long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?" and, if they answer yes, J04A asks whether their condition, illness or disability has an impact on their daily activity or the work they can do.Results are aggregated in to two broad categories: "No long-term limiting condition", combining those who answer No to either J04 or J04A; and, "Long-term limiting condition", those who answer Yes to J04 and who answer that their condition limits what they can do either "a little" or "a lot" at J04A. Answered “Yes” to the question “During the past 12 months have you personally experienced bullying or harassment at work?”No limiting long-term illnessHas a limitingDepartment for Communities and Local Government6%19%

Public Lavatories: Disability

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities receive adequate funding to ensure that public toilets are sufficiently accessible for people with disabilities.

Rishi Sunak: Local authorities have discretion over the range of services they provide and will see their core spending power increase to £46.4 billion in 2019-20, a cash-increase of 2.8 per cent. To support the running of all public toilets, the Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget a new 100 per cent business rates relief for standalone public lavatories in England.

Housing: Construction

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the agreement signed with West Midlands councils to create the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), if he will publish the amount of funding allocated to house-building; the time period for which that funding applies; what proportion of that funding has been transferred to the WMCA; and what proportion of that funding will be transferred in the next fiscal year.

Jake Berry: To date we have provided £2 million of resource funding to the West Midlands Combined Authority to support housing delivery capacity. We have also made up to £211 million available to the West Midlands Combined Authority before the end of 19/20, as part of a package worth up to £271 million by 21/22 to support housing delivery. Payments and payment timings are subject to the meeting of commitments and the delivery of key milestones.

Regeneration: Coal

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his Department’s definition is of a coalfield community; and which local authority areas contain an identified coalfield community.

Jake Berry: This Department does not hold a formal definition of a coalfield community.

Regeneration: Coal

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which funding programmes his Department makes available for specific use by coalfield communities; and how much funding has been allocated through those programmes in each  financial year since 2010.

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which funding programmes his Department makes available for specific use by coalfield communities; and how much funding has been allocated through those programmes in each financial year since 2010.

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his Department’s strategy is for the regeneration of coalfield communities; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: The Government has made a clear commitment to put places at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy. The Government has delivered on this commitment by investing across England through the Local Growth Fund. We have also agreed nine devolution deals with core cities across England and introduced seven metro mayors, with an eighth to be elected in the North of Tyne this year.Furthermore, we have worked with devolved administrations and local partners throughout Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to negotiate ambitious City and Growth deals, creating strong partnerships to deliver investment throughout the UK. Wider responsibility for regeneration in coalfield communities in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland is a responsibility largely devolved to the governments of those nations.Since 2010, we have invested almost £70 million in coalfields communities through the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT). This investment was designed to assist the CRT in becoming a self-sustaining organisation. This funding is broken down by year: 2010£13,741,0382011£16,009,9402012£11,673,9712013£17,975,0502014£9,653,7502015£596,250 The Government also announced in the autumn budget that we would invest £8 million to support repairs to village halls, miners’ welfare facilities and Armed Forces organisations’ facilities.In England, we believe that it is the role of local communities to make decisions on investment into the regeneration of their local economies. This is why we have empowered them to take decisions over investment by devolving over £9 billion of funding to Local Enterprise Partnerships between 2015 and 2021.Looking to the future, the government is committed to the creation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which aims to reduce inequalities between places by investing in those economies that are the furthest behind. We intend to consult widely on its design, and we encourage all those with an interest in the fund to respond.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Jake Berry: The Department currently has 68 diverse and talented apprentices working right across the organisation in a variety of different roles. Our apprentices are all studying towards higher level apprenticeships, including, Cyber Security, Public Relations, Policy, Business and Professional administration as well as Human resources and Project Management.We have a dedicated team who are working to improve the way we recruit apprentices.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Brexit

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Prime Minister's letter to the Leader of the Opposition of 10 February 2019, what steps he plans to take to provide further financial support to communities that feel left behind.

Jake Berry: The Government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone. We are exploring opportunities to support communities that feel left behind.The Government will set out further detail in due course.

Local Government Finance: Rural Areas

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report entitled, Research into drivers of service costs in rural areas: national analysis of unit costs, published by LG Futures in December 2014, whether the conclusions of that report will be used as an evidence base in his Department's review of local government funding.

Rishi Sunak: The Government is undertaking a review of the relative needs and resources of local authorities in England, with a view to setting fresh baseline funding levels in 2020-21. We are working closely with local government representatives and others to examine all of the available evidence for the costs faced by authorities; including how factors such as rurality, sparsity and other geographical features affect the cost of delivering services across the country, and how to account for these in a robust manner.Our December 2018 consultation paper (link below) set out a proposed Area Cost Adjustment approach, which uses the best available evidence, based on journey times, to reflect the impact of congestion in urban areas, as well as longer travel distances in rural areas on the relative cost of providing services. The consultation closed on 21 February and we will consider the many representations made in response, which will feed into the next phase of this work.https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-needs-and-resources.

Antisemitism

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department taking to (a) monitor and (b) tackle levels of antisemitism in the UK.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We work closely with the Community Security Trust and other representative community partners through the Cross-Government Working Group to Tackle Antisemitism. The Working Group is held up as an example of best practice internationally for cooperation between government and minority communities. Through the Working Group we have funded projects to highlight and counter antisemitism directed at women, and to combat the dissemination of antisemitic tropes in society.We have also worked with the police to improve the recording of hate crime. This includes a requirement to record the targeted faith or belief in incidents of religiously motivated hate crime. The first set of statistics reflecting this new requirement with disaggregated figures for religiously motivated hate crime were published in October 2018. These statistics can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/748598/hate-crime-1718-hosb2018.pdf.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Serco

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the contracts his Department has awarded to subsidiaries of Serco Limited since January 2000 to date; and what the total value of each contract was.

Stuart Andrew: Serco Limited is a subsidiary of the Serco Group. From available records, the Ministry of Defence has held no contracts with subsidiaries of Serco Limited since 2010. Information concerning contracts prior to 2010 is no longer held unless the contract was still open from 2016 onwards.It should also be noted that since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archiveThose published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Army: Recruitment

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2019 to Question 218835 on Army: Recruitment, if he will publish the segmentation study referenced in that campaign brief.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2019 to Question 218835 on Army: Recruitment, if he will publish the Employee Value Proposition research referenced in that campaign brief.

Mark Lancaster: Publication of the specific documents requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost given their length of over 400 pages and the commercial sensitivities which would need to be redacted. The document released to the hon. Member on 13 February 2019, in answer to Question 218835, set out the Army's plan for the current recruitment campaign. As such this reflects conclusions and analysis drawn from the segmentation study and Employee Value Proposition research.

Ministry of Defence: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As at 31 January 2019, 1,280 Ministry of Defence civilian personnel were employed on an apprenticeship scheme, which represents some 2.3 per cent of the civilian workforce.In addition, there are some 20,000 Armed Forces personnel undertaking apprenticeships at any one time.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason his Department has removed one MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from service.

Stuart Andrew: One of the RAF's Reaper fleet has reached the end of its viable flying life and is now in storage. This has had no impact on operational tasking.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Apprentices

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what percentage of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

David Mundell: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not employ staff directly; all staff that join - including apprentices - do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies. Due to the number involved, an estimate of apprentices working at the Department cannot be provided to protect the privacy and identity of those concerned. The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland remains committed to apprenticeships as part of a modern employment route into the Civil Service and across the wider economy.

Scotland Office: Visits Abroad

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will list any overseas visits he has undertaken since June 2017 with dates of departure from and return to the UK.

David Mundell: Details of Ministerial visits and overseas travel are published quarterly and are available on GOV.UK.

Department for International Trade

Business: UK Trade with EU

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions his Department has had with UK businesses whose biggest trading partners are  EU countries on preparations to leave the EU.

Graham Stuart: DIT leads the strategic relationship management (SRM) of major investors and exporters, works through the International Trade Adviser network across England to advise businesses and has established an enquiry service for UK businesses to receive answers to their queries on the trade and investment, and export related aspects of EU Exit. DIT teams in Europe continue to work with UK companies to promote their high-quality British goods and services, to identify and create demand in European markets and to facilitate UK exports to the EU. The government has published extensive advice on the step’s businesses may need to take to prepare for Brexit. Businesses should visit gov.uk/euexit to access the information they need.

Weapons: Overseas Trade

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the import and export of defence related weaponry.

Graham Stuart: No formal assessment on the impact of Brexit on defence exports and imports has taken place. The Department for International Trade’s Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) will continue to support the UK defence and security industries to export after Brexit.

Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he plans to bring forward Government proposals on the scrutiny and democratic oversight of trade agreements; and what his policy is on the role that Parliament will play in that process.

George Hollingbery: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the reply I gave on 4 February to the question asked by the honourable Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) (UNI 213161).

Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Leader of the House on bringing forward a debate on parliamentary scrutiny and oversight of trade agreements.

George Hollingbery: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the reply I gave on 4 February to the question asked by the honourable Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) (UNI 213161).

Iron and Steel: UK Trade with EU

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with officials in the EU on ensuring that UK steel exports to the EU will not be subject to safeguard measures in the event that the UK does not have a customs union agreement with the EU.

George Hollingbery: Following our exit from the European Union, we are committed to maintaining a close and collaborative relationship with the EU. Our future partnership is a matter for the next phase of negotiations, and we look forward to constructive discussions with the EU.

Trade Agreements

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the UK is able to make trade agreements after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority. The political declaration recognises the development of an independent UK trade policy beyond the economic partnership with the EU. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will be free to negotiate, sign and ratify new trade agreements during the time-limited implementation period, and to bring them into force from January 2021. We have consulted on our first four free trade agreements (FTAs), with the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). We plan to publish the Government’s response to these consultations before entering into any formal negotiations. In addition, we are building stronger relationships with large economies – such as China, India, and Brazil – through a series of Joint Trade Reviews (JTRs). While we are looking to forge new agreements, the Government is also seeking continuity for our existing EU trade agreements as we leave the European Union. We have made good progress, signing trade continuity agreements with Switzerland, Chile, the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) states, the Faroe Islands, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.

Trade Agreements: Philippines

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government plans to replicate the terms of the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus program for the Philippines when the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: Our first priority for the UK’s trade with developing countries is to deliver continuity in our trading arrangements on leaving the EU. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act enables the UK to put in place a trade preferences scheme for developing countries that maintains the same level of access as the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Our intention is to provide the Philippines with the same level of access as it receives under the GSP+ tier of the EU’s GSP. As part of this we will expect beneficiary countries to continue to respect the conditions in GSP+.

Trade Agreements

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has for the inclusion of Investor-state dispute settlement clauses in trade agreements with (a) the US and (b) other countries after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: We are currently reviewing our trade and investment policy and are considering a wide range of options in the design of future bilateral trade and investment agreements. We have completed four online public consultations on potential future trade agreement negotiations with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and on the UK Government potentially seeking accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). We are now considering the responses. The UK has over 90 existing bilateral investment agreements in place with other countries, many of which have been in force for several decades. The right to regulate is recognised under international law and bilateral investment treaties and agreements do not seek to undermine this. There has never been a successful investor-state dispute settlement claim brought against the UK. The threat of potential claims against the UK has not affected the Government’s legislative programme or prevented the Government from regulating in the pursuit of legitimate public policy objectives, including health, environment and human rights.

Trade Agreements

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that future trade agreements do not include Investor-state dispute settlement clauses that could undermine (a) the provision of health services, (b) environmental policy and (c) workers' rights after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: We are currently reviewing our trade and investment policy and are considering a wide range of options in the design of future bilateral trade and investment agreements. We have completed four online public consultations on potential future trade agreement negotiations with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and on the UK Government potentially seeking accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). We are now considering the responses. The UK has over 90 existing bilateral investment agreements in place with other countries, many of which have been in force for several decades. The right to regulate is recognised under international law and bilateral investment treaties and agreements do not seek to undermine this. There has never been a successful investor-state dispute settlement claim brought against the UK. The threat of potential claims against the UK has not affected the Government’s legislative programme or prevented the Government from regulating in the pursuit of legitimate public policy objectives, including health, environment and human rights.

Department for International Trade: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

George Hollingbery: As of 20th February, around 1.8% of DIT and UKEF’s domestic workforce are apprentices.

Trade Agreements: Hong Kong

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that guarantees on human rights form part of future trade negotiations with the Government of Hong Kong after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: The U.K. agreed a Strategic Dialogue with Hong Kong in 2017. As part of this, we are exploring with HK a range of ambitious options for our future trade relationship. The UK has long supported the promotion of our values globally and this will continue as we leave the EU. We are committed to upholding the UK’s high standards and we are exploring all options in the design of future trade and investment agreements, including possible human rights provisions.

Department for International Trade: Internet

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2019 to Question 213459 on Department for International Trade: Internet, how many downloads have been made of the Local to Global podcast to date.

Graham Stuart: As of 10am on the 22nd of February there have been a total of 8,398 downloads/listens of the ‘Local to Global’ podcast.

Department for Transport

Shipping

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of co-operation there will be on maritime transport including access to the European Maritime Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what cooperation there will be on maritime transport including access to the European Maritime Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Grayling: The UK is committed to cooperating globally on maritime transport including through leading international organisations such as the International Maritime Organisation as well as continued collaboration with our European partners, to ensure we maintain high levels of safety and environmental standards. In recognition of this, the political declaration accompanying the Withdrawal Agreement notes that our future relationship with the EU should facilitate cooperation on these issues, including through the exchange of information between the Maritime Coastguard Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). As a responsible government we will be planning for all eventualities with regards to when the UK leaves the European Union, and will ensure that our Maritime agencies have the tools they need to manage UK waters as effectively in future as they do now.

Common Travel Area

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the continuation of the common travel area after the UK leaves the EU on the ability of rental car companies to charge customers for crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

Chris Grayling: Leaving the EU will have no impact on the ability of rental car companies to charge customers for crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if the continuation of the Common Travel Area applies as it does now. Customers may be charged an additional fee if they are going to cross a border, but this is at the discretion of the rental car company.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on commercial pressures in the offshore helicopter transport sector; and if he will make a statement.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the impairment charges incurred by offshore helicopter companies operating in the North sea due to the grounding of Super Puma helicopters in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

Jesse Norman: As discussed in the recent Westminster Hall debate on this issue, offshore helicopter services provide a vital link to ensure the viability of the UK’s oil and gas industry. The safety of those travelling on offshore helicopter operations remains a priority.As the UK’s aviation safety regulator, the CAA monitors all aspects of the operations of offshore helicopter companies and any risks to safe operation through its safety oversight programme. This includes the commercial environment and its potential impact on safety.Impairment charges are a commercial matter for individual helicopter operators. Neither the Department nor the CAA holds data in relation to this.

Railways: North of England

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of delay repay for (a) Northern and (b) First Transpennine Express rail services.

Andrew Jones: DfT published research in October 2018 on the effectiveness of the rail passenger compensation regimes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-delays-and-compensation-2018. The operators provide the Department with Delay Repay figures annually which we publish here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744567/2017-2018-passenger-compensation-figures.pdf Northern introduced Delay Repay from 15 minutes (DR15) in December 2018.

Railways: Rural Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to increase funding for rural train line services.

Andrew Jones: Recent franchise specifications have often included mandated increased levels of service on rural train lines (for example the East Midlands services in Lincolnshire currently out to tender). Increased financial contributions to Community Rail Partnerships have also been a feature of recent franchise awards. This increased level of funding for rural services is therefore expected continue into the years ahead.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has plans to increase funding for rural bus routes.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Where there is not enough demand for a bus route to be commercially viable, all local authorities have powers to subsidise bus services. The Department provides £43 million per year to local authorities to support this. As part of the 2018-19 local government finance settlement, the Government responded to a number of councils’ concerns over rural services funding by increasing the Rural Services Delivery Grant to £81 million. The 2019-20 settlement increased the Grant to the same level. This recognises the extra costs of providing services in rural communities.

Ports: North Sea

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to support the development of east coast ports as part of the UK leaving the EU.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We expect trade to continue to flow as we leave the EU, and UK ports will continue to invest competitively to develop their facilities.

Department for Transport: Procurement

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what weighting ratio in relation to price and quality his Department uses in decision-making on public procurement contracts.

Jesse Norman: The quality/price weighting ratio that the Department uses in the evaluation of public procurement contracts will vary dependent upon the specific requirements of each procurement. As an example, when evaluating tenders for the DfT’s Specialist Technical Advice for Rail (STAR) Framework, the Department used a 70%:30% quality/price weighting ratio.

Bus Services: Stoke on Trent

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence he has had with Stoke-on-Trent City Council on the potential for bus franchising within that city; and whether he will place copies of that correspondence in the Library.

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities that are not part of Mayoral Combined Authority areas, run franchised bus services under the Bus Services Act 2017.

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local authorities have submitted proposals for franchising services to his Department under the provisions of the Bus Services Act 2017.

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department uses to assess the (a) capacity, (b) track-record and (c) economic geography of a local authority to undertake bus franchising; and whether Stoke-on-Trent City Council has complied with that criteria.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Bus Services Act 2017 (BSA) introduces new bus franchising powers for local authorities as well as providing other tools to improve bus services. We are working with interested local authorities to determine which of the powers provided are best able to support bus networks in their areas.We have had no formal requests or correspondence on the potential for bus franchising within the City of Stoke-on-Trent. Ministers and officials meet regularly with all local authorities to discuss a range of issues.Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA) have automatic access to new powers to franchise local bus services. No local authority which is not part of an MCA currently runs a franchise under the BSA.We set out criteria for assessing proposals in our guidance, available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/694428/bus-services-act-2017-franchising-guidance.pdf)

Aviation: Safety

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what preparations the Civil Aviation Authority has made to ensure aviation safety in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: UK aviation has had an excellent safety record. Safety will continue to be a priority when the UK leaves the EU, with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) continuing to undertake the majority of regulatory tasks related to the UK aviation industry. The CAA is well advanced in preparing contingency plans to take on the responsibilities currently undertaken by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and are confident that these will be in place in time.The Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 provide for approvals issued by EASA or the competent authority of another Member State to be treated as if they were issued by the CAA. Furthermore, the CAA is working closely with UK airlines and aerospace organisations to provide information to support their preparations for the UK’s exit from the EU.

Department for Transport: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Jesse Norman: The proportion of staff currently employed as apprentices by the Department for Transport is 1.41%, this includes apprentices from the central department and the four executive agencies. This figure is made up of apprentices who have been externally recruited and existing employees undertaking an apprenticeship.This figure is based on headcount numbers.This figure does not include apprentices employed by the Department waiting to start their apprenticeship.

Transport: Infrastructure

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of promoting regional economic growth through the supply chain of large infrastructure projects.

Jesse Norman: As set out in the Transport Investment Strategy, rebalancing is a key priority for the Department, and the Government is investing to ensure that its benefits are realised across the country.The Department's Rebalancing Toolkit is designed to help authors of Strategic Cases assess how a programme or project fits with the objective of spreading growth across the country. In addition, the Procuring for Growth Balanced Scorecard, which is designed to help ensure that major government procurements have a positive impact on economic growth, forms part of the development of the Commercial Cases for our major projects.The Department's major projects also hold extensive supplier engagement programmes and these are often regionally based. For example, HS2 Ltd has engaged with over 5,000 businesses, from every corner of the UK, to promote HS2 supply chain opportunities. They have supported or hosted well over 100 events in the past three years alone, including a roadshow of events in 11 UK cities, including in Belfast.

Taxis: Disability

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to raise awareness of the mechanisms by which disabled people can report discrimination in the event of being refused access to a taxi or private hire vehicle.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: It is illegal for taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers to refuse the carriage of passengers with assistance dogs, and I am clear that they must comply with the law. Responsibility for investigating allegations of discriminatory behaviour and, where appropriate, prosecuting drivers, rests with the respective local licensing authorities, and each will have its own procedure for the reporting of incidents. We are however committed to understanding refusal incidents more clearly, and will shortly begin research on the reasons why they occur and what further steps might be taken to eradicate them.

Taxis: Disability

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to encourage licensing authorities to provide mandatory disability equality training on the rights and needs of disabled passengers for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: I know that disability awareness training can provide taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers with the skills, knowledge and confidence to give disabled passengers the assistance they need, and am clear that licensing authorities should use their existing powers to require drivers to complete it. On 12th February the Government published its response to the report of the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and PHV Licensing, indicating its intention to introduce mandatory disability awareness training as part of National Minimum Standards when Parliamentary time allows.

High Speed Two: Agency Workers

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much HS2 Ltd spent on agency staff between 1 January 2018 and 30th June 2018; and how many agency staff were hired each such agency; and which agencies those agency staff were hired from.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The HS2 overall funding envelope is £55.7bn and we report annually via HS2 Ltd’s annual reporting account on overall spending.

High Speed Two: Complaints

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the number of complaints that have been made under the HS2 complaints procedure since it was established with an outline of each complaint.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Ltd publish a community engagement progress report on a six monthly basis. This report includes data on the number of enquiries and complaints received by HS2 Ltd. The first report covering the period January to June 2018 was published in Autumn 2018. This is available at https://www.hs2.org.uk/documents/community-engagement-progress-report-january-to-june-2018/.During the period January to June 2018 165 complaints were received by HS2 Ltd. The next report covering the period July to December 2018 will be published in Spring 2019.

High Speed Two: Legal Costs

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2016 to Question 44231 on High Speed Two: Legal Costs, how much has been disbursed from the public purse in legal fees for solicitors, parliamentary agents, barristers and their staff working on behalf of HS2 Ltd since that date.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The HS2 overall funding envelope is £55.7bn and we report annually via HS2 Ltd’s annual report and accounts on overall spending.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2015 to Question 16832 on High Speed 2 Railway Line, which legal advisers and barristers have been used by (a) HS2 Ltd and (b) his Department in relation to High Speed Two since 23 November 2015; and how much each such legal professional (i) has been paid and (ii) is owed.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The HS2 overall funding envelope is £55.7bn and we report annually via HS2 Ltd’s annual report and accounts on overall spending.

Department for Transport: Legal Costs

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16832, what hourly rate has been agreed by his Department for each of the barristers that have carried out other HS2 work since 2010 as detailed in that answer; and if he will list those barristers against their hourly rate.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department has instructed a number of barristers in relation to HS2 work since 2010. They include James Eadie QC, Tim Mould QC, James Strachan QC, Justine Thornton QC, Philip Moser QC, Karen Steyn QC, Jemima Stratford QC, James Maurici QC, Lisa Busch (now QC), Andrew Sharland (now QC), Julian Milford, Richard Wald, John Joliffe, Jacqueline Lean, Richard Turney, Mark Westmoreland-Smith and Clare Parry. Each barrister has been remunerated at government hourly rates agreed with the Attorney General; in the case of junior counsel at the prevailing London panel counsel rates and for nominated Queen’s Counsel at the rates found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/attorney-generals-panel-counsel-appointments-membership-lists-and-off-panel-counsel

Maidstone Railway Line

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the ability of GTR to introduce a fast train service from Maidstone East to London in December 2019.

Andrew Jones: The Department is committed to improving regular services between Maidstone and the City as soon as possible. The industry is currently finalising the May 2019 timetable before developing further changes, with the next being in December 2019. I will provide an update in advance of December 2019 once these changes have been finalised.

Railways: Bescot

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed concrete sleeper factory in Bescot on air quality in the surrounding area.

Andrew Jones: The proposal for a facility in Bescot is being developed by Network Rail to produce the sleepers necessary for them to maintain, renew, and enhance our rail network. The facility requires the grant of full planning permission by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, the statutory local planning authority. The planning process involves an Environmental Impact Assessment that examines impacts including air quality, noise, traffic, and public health.

Railways: Bescot

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed concrete sleeper factory in Bescot on congestion in the surrounding area.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The proposal for a facility in Bescot is being developed by Network Rail to produce the sleepers necessary for them to maintain, renew, and enhance our rail network. The facility requires the grant of full planning permission by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, the statutory local planning authority. The planning process involves an Environmental Impact Assessment that examines impacts including air quality, noise, traffic, and public health.

Railways: Bescot

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed concrete sleeper factory in Bescot on public health in the surrounding area.

Andrew Jones: The proposal for a facility in Bescot is being developed by Network Rail to produce the sleepers necessary for them to maintain, renew, and enhance our rail network. The facility requires the grant of full planning permission by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, the statutory local planning authority. The planning process involves an Environmental Impact Assessment that examines impacts including air quality, noise, traffic, and public health.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to publicise to motorists who intend to travel to EU countries after the UK leaves the EU that they will need an insurance green card in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to publicise to motorists in Northern Ireland that they will need an insurance green card in order to drive in the Republic of Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Chris Grayling: From 29 March 2019, if there is no EU exit deal and the European Commission does not make an implementing decision allowing the UK to remain a part of the Green Card-free area, we expect that motorists will be required to carry a Green Card as proof of their third-party motor insurance when driving in EU or EEA countries. The Government has taken several steps to ensure that motorists in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain are prepared for this scenario. In September 2018, we published the motor insurance technical notice which provided in depth advice and information on what motorists may need when travelling to the EU after exit, as well as how they can obtain a green card and who they can contact for further information. The Government also issued a new citizens communications campaign this month. This echoed earlier advice issued in the technical notice, and uses radio, digital ads and social media to direct citizens to gov.uk/euexit. We have engaged regularly with the insurance industry, ensuring that communications across the board are aligned and consistent. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau has issued comprehensive advice to both motorists and insurers on their website, alongside directing them towards the government issued advice. The Association of British Insurers have also most recently put out communications which advise that motorists request a green card one month in advance of travel. We will continue to engage with the insurance industry to ensure these changes are effectively communicated to the public.Our intention is to of course remain part of the Green Card-free circulation area and the UK meets all of the requirements needed to remain a part of it when we leave the EU. This would mean that UK drivers would continue to be able to drive in EU member states without the requirement to hold a motor insurance green card. We urge the Commission to issue a decision on the UK’s membership in the green card-free circulation zone.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to publicise to motorists intending to travel to EU countries after the UK leaves the EU the consequences of not travelling with an insurance green card in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Chris Grayling: From 29 March 2019, if there is no EU exit deal and the European Commission does not make an implementing decision allowing the UK to remain a part of the Green Card-free area, we expect that motorists will be required to carry a Green Card as proof of their third-party motor insurance when driving in EU or EEA countries. The Government has taken several steps to ensure that motorists in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain are prepared for this scenario. In September 2018, we published the motor insurance technical notice which provided in depth advice and information on what motorists may need when travelling to the EU after exit, as well as how they can obtain a green card and who they can contact for further information. The Government also issued a new citizens communications campaign this month. This echoed earlier advice issued in the technical notice, and uses radio, digital ads and social media to direct citizens to gov.uk/euexit. We have engaged regularly with the insurance industry, ensuring that communications across the board are aligned and consistent. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau has issued comprehensive advice to both motorists and insurers on their website, alongside directing them towards the government issued advice. The Association of British Insurers have also most recently put out communications which advise that motorists request a green card one month in advance of travel. We will continue to engage with the insurance industry to ensure these changes are effectively communicated to the public.Our intention is to of course remain part of the Green Card-free circulation area and the UK meets all of the requirements needed to remain a part of it when we leave the EU. This would mean that UK drivers would continue to be able to drive in EU member states without the requirement to hold a motor insurance green card. We urge the Commission to issue a decision on the UK’s membership in the green card-free circulation zone.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Consultants

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent on external consultants in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: Details of the FCO’s spending on Consultancy for each financial year is published in the FCO Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications.Consultants provide expert advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of the FCO, when in-house skills are not available.​

Iran: Human Rights

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcome was of the Warsaw summit on Iran of 13 to 14 February 2019; and what assessment he has made of the level of human rights violations that have recently taken place in Iran.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary took part in elements of the Warsaw Summit as well as meetings in the margins, in order to pursue further progress towards a peaceful outcome to the conflict in Yemen and to discuss wider thematic challenges in the Middle East. In particular, he hosted a Ministerial Quad meeting on Yemen, which focused on supporting implementation of the Stockholm Agreement. Through the Summit's working groups, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials were able to discuss wider challenges facing the region, including the proliferation of weapons, the need to address humanitarian crises in the region, and how to counter violent extremism.Iran's record on human rights continues to be of serious concern to the UK, and the FCO has designated it as one of its Human Rights Priority Countries. The continued use of the death penalty, weak rule of law and restrictions on freedoms of expression, religion and belief are deeply worrying. At the upcoming Human Rights Council in March 2019, the UK will strongly support the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran.

Saudi Arabia: Political Prisoners

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions officials of his Department have had with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia on political detainees in Saudi Arabia.

Alistair Burt: We regularly raise our concerns about human rights with Saudi Arabia, which remains a Foreign & Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, particularly because of the use of the death penalty, women’s rights and restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief.​

Christianity: Oppression

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the persecution of Christians overseas.

Mark Field: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to using our influence to defend Freedom of Religion or Belief as a universal human right which should be enjoyed by everyone. That is why the Prime Minister appointed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon as her Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He regularly raises this topic with international counterparts and through the Human Rights Council. In recent years we have seen reports of a particular rise in the persecution of Christians. The Foreign Secretary launched the independent review of FCO support for persecuted Christians on 30 January. The Review will be led by the Bishop of Truro, and will map levels of persecution and discrimination against Christians around the world, and provide robust recommendations on how the FCO can respond. A final report will be presented to the Foreign Secretary this summer.

Diplomatic Relations

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to expand the UK’s diplomatic network after the UK leaves the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary announced on 31 October 2018 the biggest strengthening of the diplomatic network in a generation. We will open 14 new and upgraded Posts, including nine Commonwealth Posts, and we are creating around 1,000 new staff positions, to be in place by the end of 2020.

Central African Republic: War Crimes

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Central African Republic and the United Nations in bringing people convicted of war crimes to account.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK welcomes the establishment of the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in the Central African Republic (CAR), which marks a significant step in building national capacity to uphold the rule of law.The SCC held its inaugural session on 22 October, with a remit to investigate, prosecute and try serious violations of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law; in particular, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in CAR since 1 January 2003. The UN Human Rights Office will also continue to provide support for judicial proceedings, as the SCC becomes operational.

Central African Republic: Peacekeeping Operations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers operating in the Central African Republic.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government contributed £40.5m in the financial year 2017-18 to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) in the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of its overall 5.78 per cent annual contribution to the UN peacekeeping budget. The mandate includes the protection of civilians and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian actors delivered aid to nearly one million people in the CAR in 2018. As a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council the UK will ensure the protection of peacekeepers and humanitarian actors in CAR remains of paramount importance.

Central African Republic: Politics and Government

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of the UN’s achievements in achieving stability outside the capital in the Central African Republic.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The UN Peacekeeping Mission (MINUSCA) in the Central African Republic (CAR) has deployed military troops to the west, centre and east of the country, primarily for the protection of civilians.With approximately 70 per cent of the territory controlled by armed groups, achieving stability outside of Bangui, remains extremely challenging. Flashpoints of violence between armed groups and unprovoked attacks towards humanitarian workers and civilians occurs too often. The UK will continue to monitor the security situation, engaging closely with MINUSCA and non-governmental organisations on the ground. However, in order to achieve peace in CAR, efforts to stabilise the country in the short term must go hand-in-hand with longer-term progress on reconciliation, justice, and state building.MINUSCA is mandated to support the African Union Peace Process and the UK will monitor the recently announced peace deal, closely.

Central African Republic: Russia

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the level of military support provided by Russia to the Central African Republic.

Harriett Baldwin: Since 2017, the Russian Federation has provided military expertise and training, with the stated aim of building the capacity and capability of the Central African Republic’s National Army, Forces Armées Centrafricaine (FACA) alongside the EU Training Mission (EUTM RCA). There are approximately 248 soldiers under active training by Russian military experts. In 2018, the Central African Republic (CAR) signed a military cooperation agreement with Russia. As part of the British Government’s approach to support stability and prosperity in CAR, we continue to monitor the bilateral engagement - military or otherwise - of other countries with CAR, as well as developments in the country, such as the recently agreed peace deal signed by the Government of CAR and 14 armed groups.

Members: Correspondence

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the letter of 31 January 2019 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central, addressed to the Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, on the matter of a constituent, Mr Soofi.

Mark Field: ​A response was sent on 20 February, eight working days before the Cabinet Office 20 day target.

Zimbabwe: Sanctions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the sanctions against the Zimbabwean Government and other Designated Persons from Zimbabwe.

Harriett Baldwin: We view EU restrictive measures as one of the tools to promote peace, democracy and the respect for the rule of law, human rights and international law. They are a tool used in conjunction with other methods, including political dialogue, as part of an integrated policy approach. They are targeted on specific individual and Zimbabwe Defence Industries and do no damage to the wider economy or the people of Zimbabwe.The UK and our EU partners continue to assess the appropriateness of sanctions in light of recent developments. The crackdown on demonstrations in January 2019, as well as the disproportionate use of force by the authorities, called into question the Zimbabwean Government's commitment to uphold human rights and the rule of law. New listings can be swiftly adopted if required.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Sir Alan Duncan: As of 31 January 2019, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employed 99 apprentices, of whom 57 work for our Trading Fund, FCO Services. This is 1.69 per cent (an increase of 0.34 per cent from January 2018) of the total of FCO and FCO Services UK-based staff worldwide, and 2.59 per cent (an increase of 0.59 per cent from January 2018) of our staff working in the UK. We expect a further 22 staff to enrol on an apprenticeship by 31 March 2019.

Brazil: Human Rights

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Brazil on the future (a) human rights and (b) welfare of indigenous groups in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​I met Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo on 4 February and we discussed a range of topics. Our Embassy in Brasilia frequently engages with the Brazilian Government on human rights matters, including issues affecting indigenous peoples. The UK is proud to defend its values and will not shy away from expressing where we disagree. The UK's view is clear: human rights must be respected.

Philippines: Age of Criminal Responsibility

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Philippines on proposals to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility in that country to 12 years old.

Mark Field: ​We continue to urge the government of the Philippines to consider their position over this issue carefully, in particular we consider it important to ensure there are appropriate juvenile detention facilities in place before proceeding with proposals to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility.The Foreign Secretary has not discussed this issue with the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs. However, the British Embassy in Manila continues to raise this, and other human rights issues, with relevant stakeholders.

Armed Conflict

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department plans to update the Government Strategy on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict to include a specific focus on children.

Mark Field: The Government is currently reviewing its strategy on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, which applies to all civilians including children. The review coincides with the twentieth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1265 (1999) and the adoption of the Protection of Civilians as an item on the Security Council’s agenda.

India: Terrorism

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to support the Government of India after the Pulwama attack on 14 February 2019.

Mark Field: ​We strongly condemn last week’s terror attack in Pulwama, one of the worst single atrocities in Kashmir since independence. We are engaging the Governments of both India and Pakistan to encourage them to find diplomatic solutions and refrain from actions that could jeopardise regional stability. We are also working with the international community and through the UN Security Council to ensure that the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack are brought to justice.

Cellou Dalein Diallo

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the safety of Cellou Dalein Diallo in Guinea.

Harriett Baldwin: The outcome of the February 2018 Guinean municipal elections has been heavily disputed, resulting in an increase in political tensions in the country. In this context, we are aware of reports of shooting at the vehicle convoy of the opposition party leader, Cellou Dalein Diallo, in Conakry late last year. Together with EU and other international partners we are monitoring the situation closely. The international community continues to urge dialogue between the political parties and essential preparation for forthcoming legislative elections. Peaceful elections will be essential to reassuring investors and other partners, and not least the people of Guinea.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Bullying

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in her Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.

Alistair Burt: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service. In our most recent People Survey, the results for across the Civil Service show that 11% of respondents, on average, reported that they'd experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey.   Whilst this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that certain groups of staff are more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than others. This includes staff members with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they'd been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.   We are strengthening the routes for staff to report bullying and harassment to ensure that all staff are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures are positive and inclusive.   The high-level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates of bullying and harassment, were published last December on gov.uk.   Each spring the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and made available on gov.uk.   A summary table of 2017’s results by organisation and health status on bullying and harassment at work was placed in the House library by Cabinet Office on 19 February 2019.

UNRWA

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the change in the level of (a) service efficiency and (b) effectiveness of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency delivered through its Medium Term Strategy.

Alistair Burt: DFID assesses the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) effectiveness and levels of service efficiency as part of the yearly Annual Review process, most recently completed in June 2018. The annual review states that major efficiency gains were made between 2015 and 2017. UNRWA was able to save a total of $197 million through the implementation of Medium Term Strategy (MTS) reforms, including family health team reforms, centralisation of medicine procurement, school class formation, and the move from food to e-cards in Jordan and Lebanon, whilst improving the quality and impact of its services. Most recently we had an update on UNRWA’s service efficiency and effectiveness against the MTS in November 2018, at the bi-annual Advisory Commission, which reported further gains in improving programme delivery.

UNRWA: Finance

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with her US counterparts on their decision to withdraw funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Alistair Burt: I discussed the US withdrawal of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Near East (UNRWA) with the US President’s Middle East Envoy, Jason Greenblatt, on 28 September 2018. The UK has been clear that we are concerned about the impact of US cuts to UNRWA on regional stability and services to Palestinian refugees. UK officials continue to engage with the US on this matter, and we will continue to work with UNRWA and other donors to help place the Agency on a more secure financial footing.

Commonwealth: Drinking Water

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that there is safe drinking water available in (a) Sri Lanka and (b) all other Commonwealth countries.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to supporting countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 target of universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. Since 2015, we have supported 40 million people to gain access to clean water and sanitation. This includes beneficiaries in Commonwealth countries in Africa and Asia such as Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. DFID has also supported Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean. For example, following Hurricane Maria DFID allocated £25 million to Dominica to repair and strengthen the water supply system across the island. DFID’s bilateral programme in Sri Lanka country closed in 2006 when the country graduated to middle income status, and DFID does not have water and sanitation programmes in Sri Lanka.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Bullying

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in her Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 19 February 2019



Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service. The Department for Education has highlighted tackling bullying and harassment as one of its three diversity and inclusion priorities for 2019. It recently appointed fair treatment ambassadors on all of its sites to provide support and advice to people who report bullying or harassment, and has also provided training for managers on inclusive leadership, disability awareness and unconscious bias. In the most recent People Survey, 11% of respondents across the Civil Service, on average, told us that they had experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey. Whilst this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that certain groups of staff are more likely to say than others that they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour. This includes staff members with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say that they had been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions. We are strengthening the routes for staff to report bullying and harassment to make sure that all staff are fully supported throughout the process and to make sure that the cultures are positive and inclusive. The high level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates of bullying and harassment, were published last December on GOV.UK. Each spring, the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and made available on GOV.UK. In the meantime, the results for the 2017 survey are summarised in the attached table. A copy of this table has been placed in the Houses of both Libraries. Data on health status for the Civil Service People Survey 2017, which are arranged by organisation, can be found in the attached table. Long-term health status is captured in the People Survey through questions J04 and J04A. J04 asks if the individual has a "long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?" and, if they answer yes, J04A asks whether their condition, illness or disability has an impact on their daily activity or the work they can do. Results are aggregated in to two broad categories: "No long-term limiting condition", combining those who answer No to either J04 or J04A; and, "Long-term limiting condition", those who answer Yes to J04 and who answer that their condition limits what they can do either "a little" or "a lot" at J04A. 



221673_2017_Civil_Service_People_Survey_Responses
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Carers: Children and Young People

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of carers under the age of 18 in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Graduates: Employment

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of university students have not secured graduate employment five years after graduating.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students have not secured graduate employment five years after graduating by higher education institution.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students have not secured graduate employment five years after graduating by course.

Chris Skidmore: The department publishes statistics on the employment and earnings outcomes of graduates one, 3, 5 and 10 years after graduation from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset. Employment and earnings outcomes for the higher education sector as a whole were published in March 2018 as part of ‘Graduate outcomes (LEO): 2015 to 2016’:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/graduate-outcomes-2015-to-2016. Outcomes by institution and subject were published in June 2018 as part of ‘Graduate Outcomes (LEO): Subject by Provider, 2015 to 2016’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo-subject-by-provider-2015-to-2016. In addition to these, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes the occupations of higher education leavers at 6 months and three-and-a-half-years after graduation. The occupations data are collected in HESA’s Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education surveys. Graduates categorised as being in Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) groups one to three[1] are considered to be in ‘Professional Employment’. Information by subject is published at the links below. Occupation of leavers six months after graduation (see Figure 9):https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/28-06-2018/sfr250-higher-education-leaver-statistics-subjects. Occupation of leavers three and a half years after graduation (see Table 9):https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications/long-destinations-2012-13/employment. [1] SOC groups one to three are ‘Managers, directors and senior officials’, ‘Professional occupations’ and ‘Associate professional and technical occupations’ respectively.

Construction: Apprentices

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase the quality of construction apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: New, employer-designed apprenticeship standards are at the centre of our reforms to drive up quality and develop the skills businesses need for the future, in every part of the economy. Standards describe full occupational competence, as agreed by employers, and must include a rigorous and independent end-point assessment.In the construction sector, 66 standards have already been approved for delivery and a further 33 are in development by trailblazer groups comprising employers of all sizes.The move to standards, together with the minimum 20% off-the-job training rule, has already contributed to a 25% rise in expected apprenticeship training hours. The government has committed to all apprenticeship starts being on standards by the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Frameworks will be withdrawn on 31 July 2020.We have also introduced quality assurance in apprenticeship training and assessment at all levels from a range of independent specialist bodies, and strengthened the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers to give employers confidence that apprentices will receive high-quality training.

Construction: Apprentices

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on productivity levels of (a) bricklaying, (b) plastering and (c) other core construction apprenticeships after (i) two years and (ii) three years of such apprenticeship training.

Anne Milton: Research published in 2015 established that successful achievement of an apprenticeship in construction and building services is associated with an increase in earnings of 11% and 32% at Levels 2 and 3 respectively. This is measured 3 to 5 years after the apprenticeship, and is used as a measure of the increase in productivity.The full research paper is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/480627/BIS-15-652-FE-analysis-further-disaggregation-employment-and-earnings-returns-by-sector-group.pdf.Information regarding further breakdown of the effect of productivity levels by occupational route is not held centrally.

Apprentices: Taxation

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase the proportion of Apprenticeship Levy vouchers that are able to be passed down the supply chain to smaller non-Levy paying companies.

Anne Milton: Employers that pay the Apprenticeship Levy can transfer up to 10% of their annual apprenticeship service funds to other employers, including non-levy paying employers. From April 2019, the amount that employers can transfer will increase to 25%.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which Minister is responsible for children's play services; and what steps the Government is taking on ensuring that the UK upholds Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the right to play.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pre-school Education: Free School Meals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the payment to providers for universal free infant school meals above the current rate of £2.30 per meal which has applied since 2014.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Education: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Anne Milton: As at 1 February 2019, the Department for Education employed 6,427 individuals, 209 of which are apprentices.

Pre-school Education: Free School Meals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to assess the effect of the universal free infant school meals policy on (a) school standards and (b) pupils' wellbeing since its introduction in 2014.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will ensure that under the comprehensive spending review at least the same level of revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy is allocated to (a) the continuation of the healthy pupils capital fund and (b) other schemes for the improvement of children’s health.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Schools: Vocational Education

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure the (a) cost-effectiveness and (b) availability of apprenticeships; and what assessment he has made of the level of compliance by schools with the Baker clause.

Anne Milton: Our reforms are making apprenticeships longer and better, with more off-the job training and proper assessment at the end, helping employers to create high quality apprenticeships training that will lead to a more skilled and productive economy. By 2020, funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England will have risen to over £2.5 billion per year, to increase the number of high quality opportunities.New apprenticeship standards across all levels are being designed and driven by industry according to their skill needs. There are over 400 apprenticeship standards available, across all levels and in a wide range of occupations, with more in development.The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is responsible for advising the Department for Education (DfE) on the appropriate funding band for apprenticeships, to support high quality apprenticeships and provide value for money for employers and government. The funding band represents the maximum government contribution towards the costs of apprenticeship training and assessment, and employers are encouraged to negotiate a price with their provider.Information regarding the number of schools that are compliant with the Baker Clause is not held centrally, but the DfE has carried out a survey with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers in June 2018 to find out more about the early impact of the new law. Just over three quarters (76%) of the 75 providers surveyed stated that the duty is being partially complied with in their area. Just under a fifth (19%) said it was not being complied with at all. The remaining 5% said schools in their area are fully compliant. A more recent study by the Institute for Public Policy Research, published on 9 January, found that 70% of providers say that it is difficult to access schools in their area and 31% say that the situation has improved in the last year.

Higher Education: Fees and Charges

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from the higher education sector on reducing tuition fees.

Chris Skidmore: The Review of Post-18 Education and Funding is considering how we ensure funding arrangements across post-18 education and training are transparent and do not act as barriers to choice or provision, and how best to promote value for money for students and taxpayers.As part of the review, an independent panel, chaired by Philip Augar, has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement with stakeholders and experts, including the higher education sector, students and recent graduates.

Pupils: Hearing Impairment

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of support for deaf schoolchildren in mainstream schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of  the adequacy of the level of per pupil funding in England by his Department in each of the last eight years.

Nick Gibb: The Department has protected the core schools budget overall in real terms since 2010. School funding in England is at its highest ever level, rising to £43.5 billion in 2020. Figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies show that real terms per pupil funding for five to 16 year olds in 2020 will be more than 50% higher than it was in 2000.The Department recognises that schools have faced cost pressures in recent years. The Department has announced a strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-excellent-school-resource-management) setting out the range of support, current and planned, that it is making available to help schools reduce costs. This outlines the extensive support the Department is providing for schools and includes guidance to improve how they buy goods and services.

Schools: Social Workers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what risk assessments his Department has made on proposals to place social workers in schools in the local authority areas of (a) Southampton, (b) Stockport and (c) Lambeth.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Leader of the House, what proportion of staff employed by her Office are apprentices.

Andrea Leadsom: The Civil Service has pledged an unprecedented increase in apprenticeships and to deliver at least 30,000 apprenticeships by 2020. The Leader's Office staff are Cabinet Office employees, and form part of the Government in Parliament Group. The Cabinet Office currently employs 90 apprentices, of which eight are in the Government in Parliament Group.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Non-native Species: EU Law

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure a comprehensive analysis of unintentional pathways of introduction and spread to meet the UK’s obligations under Article 13 of EU Regulation No 1143/2014 on invasive alien species.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which pathways of unintentional introduction and spread other than boating and angling have been prioritised for Pathway Action Plans as a result of the pathway analysis under Article 13 of EU Regulation No 1143/2014 on invasive alien species.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to establish a surveillance system of invasive alien species of Union concern to minimise or prevent the introduction of those species under Article 14 of EU Regulation No 1143/2014 on invasive alien species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The UK is in the process of completing its comprehensive pathway analysis. Rather than basing this simply on the unintentional pathways of introduction and spread of species listed as being of Union concern (the minimum required by the Regulation), the UK has undertaken an extensive assessment of introduction pathways of all established non-native species in Great Britain and their impacts. This will be used, in addition to data on species of Union concern and horizon scanning, to support prioritisation. Boating and angling have been identified as priorities for Pathway Action Plans (PAPs) given the recent arrivals of several highly invasive aquatic species, including killer shrimp and quagga mussel, and are almost complete. In addition to this, a PAP has been completed for zoos and aquaria and the UK has a long running campaign to reduce the risk of horticultural escapes (although this is not part of a formal PAP). Further PAPs will be prioritised based on the results of the comprehensive analysis. The Non-Native Species Information Portal (NNSIP) has been established to ensure a rapid flow of non-native species distribution data into a centralised repository to facilitate surveillance for new species as well as the spread of established species. The NNSIP is a partnership that relies on the extensive biological recording networks present in Great Britain as well as citizen recording. In addition, an alert mechanism has been established for urgent recording of priority species, which received around 8,000 alerts in 2018. Early detection is particularly critical to support the UK’s response to the Asian hornet, so a surveillance network of sentinel apiaries is being used to monitor for the arrival of this species.

Livestock: Transport

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on contingency arrangements for the mass slaughter of livestock in the event that ports are closed if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

David Rutley: The Government continues to work with industry to help manage economic impacts for the livestock sector in a no deal departure. Contingency options are being developed to respond to potential animal welfare issues on farm and during transport and these have been incorporated into broader Government no deal planning. There are no plans for a mass cull.

Pet Travel Scheme: Dover Port

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish the findings of its analysis of operations at Dover port in relation to the EU Pet Travel Regulations.

David Rutley: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are committed to tackling abuse of the EU Pet Travel Scheme. Observations of routine activities at port form part of this ongoing work.Operational assessments conducted at Dover are not published, as this could compromise enforcement activities. However, key findings are routinely shared with relevant stakeholders, and also help inform policy decisions and will contribute to the UK’s future pet travel policy.

Hill Farming: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the level of financial support that will be available to hill farmers through the Basic Payment Scheme or an alternative to that scheme by 2024.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the level of financial support that will be available to hill farmers through the Basic Payment Scheme or an alternative to that scheme by 2028.

George Eustice: The Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of this Parliament, expected in 2022. This includes all funding provided for farm support under both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the current Common Agricultural Policy. We are working across Government to develop future funding arrangements. We will phase out Direct Payments in England during an agricultural transition period, giving time for farmers to adjust. We plan to start reducing payments in 2021. We aim to phase out Direct Payments completely by the end of the transition period, with the last payments being made for the 2027 scheme year. A new Environmental Land Management system will be the cornerstone of our agricultural policy in England after we leave the EU. Elements of the new system are being trialled and tested before being piloted. The National Pilot is scheduled to launch in 2021. The full system will be rolled out in 2024. Due to the environmental quality of upland areas, upland farmers will be well placed to benefit from the new Environmental Land Management system which will reward land managers for the public goods they deliver and provide an income stream.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for the roll-out of the replacement to the Basic Payment Scheme.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date he plans to make the replacement to the Basic Payment Scheme available to all farmers.

George Eustice: The Government currently plans to pilot the new Environmental Land Management System (ELMS) nationally from 2021 and make it fully available from 2024. Existing agri-environment schemes, simplified further, would continue to be available until the ELMS is fully rolled out. Payments under the Basic Payment Scheme will be phased out over a 7 year agricultural transition starting from 2021.

Dogs: Smuggling

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the length of sentences for convictions of dog smuggling.

David Rutley: Defra takes the issue of the smuggling of dogs and puppies seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to the smuggled dogs and puts the health of pets and people in the UK at risk. We are working hard to tackle the problem, targeting both the supply and demand of illegally imported dogs. This approach includes international engagement, enforcement, public communications and tighter regulation.Defra is considering a number of options for improved enforcement as part of a long term strategy for pet travel. Stricter penalties, including the possibility of introducing Fixed Penalty Notices, are being considered. In addition, we are also seeking to extend the maximum sentence for animal cruelty up to 5 years.

Food Supply: Scotland

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assurances his Department has provided to the Scottish Government on the prevention of food shortages in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

David Rutley: Defra officials have been working closely with Scottish Government officials, and officials from all Devolved Administrations, on contingency planning for a no deal scenario, including considering potential impacts on the food sector. The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries. This will continue to be the case whether we leave the European Union with or without a deal. The Government also has well established ways of working with the food industry, including Defra’s long established Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG), which allows Government and industry to work together to plan for and respond to any food supply disruption. This industry group’s membership is drawn from across the agri-food chain sector and includes other relevant government departments and Devolved Administrations including the Scottish Government. This group is meeting monthly to support preparations for leaving the EU.

Food Supply

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential requirement for a fair and controlled food distribution system in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

David Rutley: The Government is preparing for all eventualities including leaving the European Union without a deal. Extensive work to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario has been under way for the last two years to ensure the country continues to operate as smoothly as possible from the day we leave.The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries. This will continue to be the case whether we leave the European Union with or without a deal. The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues, and food distribution, and we are using these to support preparations for leaving the EU. This includes working with Defra’s long established Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG), which allows Government and industry to work together to plan for and respond to any food supply disruption. This industry group’s membership is drawn from across the agri-food chain sector and includes other relevant government departments, Devolved Administrations and agencies.Defra will continue to work closely with food industry stakeholders to understand the impacts of a no deal scenario on the food and drink industry, as well as the contingency planning measures being taken by industry.

Animal Welfare

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for the legal protection of the welfare of animals after the UK has left the EU.

David Rutley: The Government has been very clear that leaving the EU will not lead to a lowering of our high animal welfare standards. Our regulatory system will offer the same level of assurance of animal welfare following our departure from the EU as it does now. The EU Withdrawal Act will ensure that existing EU standards are maintained once we leave the EU. For instance, existing bans on chlorinated chicken and hormone beef have been transferred into UK law and will remain in place after we leave.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he is making on banning the use of wild animals in circuses by 19 January 2020.

David Rutley: I refer the honourable member to the answer given to the honourable member for Oxford West and Abingdon on 16 October 2018 to question 176633.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

George Eustice: There are 38 apprentices employed in core Defra as at 21 February 2019, which is 0.9% of the department’s headcount.

Plastics: Packaging

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to encourage all major supermarket chains to introduce reduction targets for plastics.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Resources and Waste Strategy, published in December 2018, included the ambition to work towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025 and to eliminate avoidable plastic waste over the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Industry is already taking action. In April last year, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched their world-leading UK Plastics Pact, with support from the Government, and all the major supermarkets have signed up to it. The Pact brings these organisations together with four key targets for 2025 that aim to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated. We are currently consulting on a series of reforms, including reform to the existing packaging waste regulations, which will support supermarkets in achieving those targets. The Government is also working with retailers and WRAP to encourage their efforts to reduce waste and to explore the introduction of plastic-free supermarket initiatives in which fresh food is sold loose, giving consumers the choice.

Plastics: Recycling

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of banning the use of non-recyclable plastics in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government published its Resources and Waste Strategy in December last year which sets out our plans to reduce plastic pollution. We have committed to working towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. We are currently consulting on reforming existing packaging waste regulations, introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and increasing consistency in the recycling system, which together we expect to drive major improvements in recycling rates. Industry is also committed to increasing the recyclability of plastic packaging, including through the world-leading UK Plastics Pact. We expect these initiatives by industry, combined with our reforms, to work together to eliminate from use the most problematic and difficult to recycle plastic packaging. As the Resources and Waste Strategy makes clear, however, where progress is insufficient we will explore alternative policy measures, which may take the form of a ban as part of a wider strategic approach. We have already consulted on banning the distribution and/or sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds and will shortly be publishing a summary of responses. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products, including problematic packaging materials.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Boston Consulting Group

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199427 on Boston Consulting Group, on which cross-cutting complex policy and delivery matters the Boston Consulting Group provided strategic analytical support.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Boston Consulting Group were awarded a contract to provide support to the Policy and Delivery Coordination directorate in the Department for Exiting the EU. They have worked on discrete projects aligned with the directorate's core functions. This includes scrutinising policy and delivery planning, supporting, monitoring and catalysing implementation and developing policy positions on cross-government policy priorities.

UK Trade With EU: Small Businesses

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether UK-based shopfitting firms that currently have contracts to provide services in the rest of the EU will need to obtain work permits from the relevant EU country for their staff to enable them to continue doing that work in the event that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement.

Mr Robin Walker: Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. We welcome the proposal by the European Commission to put UK nationals on a visa-free list for short trips to the EU even in the event of no deal.In the event that we leave the EU without a deal, UK nationals travelling to the EU for the purposes of work may be subject to extra conditions. Businesses will need to check individual Member State immigration rules for whether there are any requirements or conditions around supporting documentation, work permits or visas. Businesses should also check whether there are any restrictions on the provision of services, such as whether a UK professional qualification is recognised in the country in question.We have published advice on the steps that UK nationals may need to take to prepare for our exit from the EU, which can be found at gov.uk/euexit. The Government will publish any necessary updates on gov.uk in due course.

Competition : EU Action

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will list areas of competence where the UK Competition and Markets Authority will be obliged to refer matters for decision by the European Commission under the terms of the draft Withdrawal Agreement.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Under the terms of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the Commission will continue its current role enforcing EU State aid and competition rules in the UK during the implementation period.Thereafter, in the event of the backstop entering into force the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be responsible for enforcing competition rules and assessing mergers in the UK.The CMA would also be responsible for regulating State aid in the UK, with the exception of measures affecting trade in goods between Northern Ireland and the EU, which the Commission would continue to regulate. The CMA would be required to consult the Commission on draft State aid decisions, but crucially the Commission’s opinion would not be binding on the CMA.

European University Institute

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans his Department has for the UK's continued involvement in the European University Institute.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK’s EU membership is inextricably linked to its current membership of the EUI Convention. As a result of exiting the EU, the UK will no longer be an EU member state and so, in a no deal scenario, the UK’s membership of the European University Institute Convention (EUIC) will automatically cease on 29 March 2019. In a deal scenario, the UK’s membership of this Convention will continue for the duration of the implementation period.The Government has repeatedly made clear that it values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a Global Britain. The Political Declaration sets out that we will establish general principles, terms and conditions for UK participation in EU programmes in areas of shared interest, and wider dialogues to allow us to share best practice and act together in our mutual interest. On this basis, we will explore with the European University Institute options for future participation in its activities and we will work to ensure that UK students at the EUI will be able to complete their studies. Furthermore, UK universities will be able to continue to collaborate with the EUI in research projects even if the UK is no longer a member of the EUI Convention.

European University Institute: Foreign Students

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the potential effect will be on students from the UK studying at the European University Institute of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Mr Robin Walker: Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority.The UK Government has repeatedly made clear that it values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain.The UK’s EU membership is inextricably linked to its current membership of the EUI Convention. As a result of exiting the EU, the UK will no longer be an EU member state and so, in a no deal scenario, the UK’s membership of the European University Institute (EUI) Convention will automatically cease on 29 March 2019. However, the UK will continue to be part of the EUIC in a deal scenario.We will explore with the EUI options for future participation in its activities and we will work to ensure that UK students at the EUI will be able to complete their studies. Furthermore, UK universities will be able to continue to collaborate with the EUI in research projects even if the UK is no longer a member of the EUI Convention.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many officials in his Department have been transferred (a) out of and (b) into his Department from each Government Department since the creation of his Department.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department for Exiting the European Union is responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. To deliver the Department’s objectives DExEU works closely with the Cabinet Office and other departments.Since the creation of the Department (a) 23 officials have been transferred out from DExEU to the Cabinet Office and (b) 52 officials have been transferred into DExEU (35 from the Cabinet Office and 17 from the FCO). These figures do not include staff who have joined or left the Department on individual loan agreements.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many official in his Department have been transferred to the Cabinet Office since the creation of his Department.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department for Exiting the European Union is responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. To deliver the Department’s objectives DExEU works closely with the Cabinet Office and other departments. 23 officials have been transferred from DExEU to the Cabinet Office since the creation of the department.

Brexit

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the oral contribution of 12 February 2019, Official Report, columns 745 and 746, for what reason his Department has not presented the revised legislation for leaving the EU, 21 days before the 29 March 2019.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The provisions around laying treaties for 21 sitting days in section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act relate to the treaty itself, and not to the domestic implementing legislation.We will introduce the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill as soon as possible once the final deal has been approved by Parliament. The Government is committed to doing everything it can to ensure that Parliament has the opportunity to scrutinise the Bill in the time available.

European Court of Justice

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, on what date the United Kingdom will not have a judge on the European Court of Justice in the event of (a) the UK leaving the EU in line with the Withdrawal Agreement and (b) the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Mr Robin Walker: When we leave the EU, we will no longer have a right to nominate UK judges to the CJEU. The UK judges currently appointed to the CJEU will therefore depart from the court at the point at which the UK exits the EU.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Robert Buckland: The Attorney General’s Office does not directly employ apprentices. The Attorney General’s Office has around 50 staff, the majority of whom are on two year loans to the Office. One such staff member is an apprentice, employed by the Government Legal Department and loaned to the Attorney General’s Office. The Law Officer Departments, (Attorney General’s Office, Government Legal Department, Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office and HM Inspectorate of Crown Prosecution Service) compile and submit quarterly apprenticeship returns to the Cabinet Office and these are published on www.Gov.uk . Apprentices located within HM Inspectorate of Crown Prosecution Service and the Attorney General’s Office are reported to Cabinet Office within the total figures for the Government Legal Department.

Crown Prosecution Service

Steve McCabe: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2019 to Question 213932 on Crown Prosecution Service: West Midlands, what the change has been in the caseload for the Crown Prosecution Service for each principal offence category in each year from 2010.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants and collates the data collected in financial years. At the conclusion of each prosecution case the defendant is allocated one of 12 Principal Offence Categories that indicates the most serious offence with which the defendant is charged at the time of finalisation. The tables in Annex 1 show the number of finalised prosecution outcomes in the CPS nationally for each Principal Offence Category, during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18, and the year on year change in both volume and percent.



Annex 1
(Word Document, 24.08 KB)

Road Traffic Offences: Prosecutions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 11 of February 2019 to Question 217439 on Crown Prosecution Service: West Midlands, how many minor motoring cases there were in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of prosecuted defendants by twelve Principal Offence Categories, including the category of Motoring Offences. The table below shows the number of summary-only prosecutions at magistrates’ courts allocated to the Motoring Offences category during each available year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 and the change in both volume and percent. YearMotoring Prosecution CaseloadVolume Change% Change2010-2011287,677--2011-2012255,270-32,407-11.3%2012-2013224,832-30,438-11.9%2013-2014166,028-58,804-26.2%2014-2015107,698-58,330-35.1%2015-2016107,227-471-0.4%2016-2017100,058-7,169-6.7%2017-201894,738-5,320-5.3%Data Source: CPS Management Information SystemIt is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for individual offences within the Motoring Offences category.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Nigel Adams: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales currently has three apprentices, which is 7% of our total workforce.

Ministry of Justice

Administration of Justice: Finance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding of the criminal justice system in the forthcoming Government spending review.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 22 February 2019



As we move towards the forthcoming Spending Review, the Secretary of State is considering closely the most important areas to focus on over the next 5 years to provide an effective and fair justice system, safe and decent prisons, and stable, effective probation services that protect the public and reduce reoffending. My officials and the Ministerial team are continuing to work closely with HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and partners in other government departments to ensure we have an appropriate and sustainable funding strategy for the MoJ that enables us to deliver our desired outcomes. We are committed to delivering an efficient and effective criminal justice system while playing our part in contributing to the government’s wider fiscal objectives. We will continue to work with my colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to deliver this.

Probate: Fees and Charges

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the proposed reforms to probate fees were not brought to the House in the form of primary legislation.

Lucy Frazer: The proposed changes to probate fees do not require primary legislation, as the power to introduce these changes is provided under section 92 of the Courts Act 2003 and section 180 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. These powers expressly enable the Lord Chancellor to charge fees for anything dealt with by the courts, including the Probate Service, and at a level that exceeds the cost of that for which the fee is charged. These powers are exercisable by the Lord Chancellor by way of secondary legislation in the form of a statutory instrument, subject to the affirmative procedure. Any income raised must be spent on funding an efficient and effective courts and tribunal service. Our plans to raise the threshold from £5,000 to £50,000 will lift around 25,000 additional estates annually out of paying fees altogether and more than half of estates in England and Wales will pay no probate fee at all. Of those who do pay, around 60% will pay £250 – close to the current fee level – and around 80% of estates will pay £750 or less. No one will pay more than 0.5% of the total estate value and all fees are recoverable from the estate. Any income raised must be spent on funding an efficient and effective courts and tribunal service. This allows the Government to subsidise other parts of the system that do not recover their costs in fees, including domestic violence proceedings in the family court and tribunal cases before the First-tier Tribunal concerning mental health.

Probate: Fees and Charges

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people in England and Wales in each household income band will pay (a) more or (b) less under the Government's proposed reforms to probate fees.

Lucy Frazer: The proposed probate fees do not relate to household income, but to the value of the estate passing under the grant of representation. Therefore, no assessment has been made relating to household income. Our plans to raise the threshold from £5,000 to £50,000 will lift around 25,000 additional estates annually out of paying fees altogether and more than half of estates in England and Wales will pay no probate fee at all. Of those who do pay, around 60% will pay £250 – close to the current fee level – and around 80% of estates will pay £750 or less. No one will pay more than 0.5% of the total estate value and all fees are recoverable from the estate. Any income raised must be spent on funding an efficient and effective courts and tribunal service. This allows the Government to subsidise other parts of the system that do not recover their costs in fees, including domestic violence proceedings in the family court and tribunal cases before the First-tier Tribunal concerning mental health.

Ministry of Justice: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Edward Argar: For the Ministry of Justice, as at 21/02/2019, there are 587 members of staff undertaking an apprenticeship programme which equates to 1% of total staff.

*No heading*

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timescale is for Ministerial approval to be granted for the new contract specification for community rehabilitation companies in England and Wales; and when that specification will be made public.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice continues to refine our plans for more effective integration of public, private and voluntary sector probation providers. We will set out more detailed plans later this year.

*No heading*

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government press release entitled New plans for probation in Wales announced by UK Government, published in July 2019, whether those changes to probation arrangements will involve any contracting out of services.

Rory Stewart: The Government is clear that the public, private and voluntary sectors all have a role to play in delivering probation services. We consulted in summer 2018 on proposals to better integrate providers in Wales by bringing the NPS and CRC into one combined probation service, while exploring options for the commissioning of rehabilitation services in Wales which reflect the delivery landscape and the skills and capabilities of providers. We continue to develop these proposals in consultation with stakeholders and will set out plans for the future of probation in Wales later this year.

Birmingham Prison: G4S

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February to Question 217442 on Birmingham Prison: G4S, whether G4S (a) was required to pay any forfeitures as a result of the step-in and (b) paid during the period of the step-in.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February to Question 217442 on Birmingham Prison: G4S, what assessment he has made of the capacity of G4S to fulfil the terms of its contract to run that prison.

Rory Stewart: Any additional costs incurred to HMPPS as a result of the step-in action, including HMPPS staff and for cells taken out of operational use, are being claimed from G4S in accordance with the terms of our contract with them. The details of that claim are commercially restricted. While we are confident that the action taken at HMP Birmingham has begun to arrest the decline and brought signs of improvement, as I have said previously, we will not return the prison to G4S control until we are assured that it the issues which gave rise to the step-in have been remedied and are not likely to recur. We have decided to extend the step-in and the position will be reviewed again in summer 2019. We will not hand the prison back to G4S unless we are completely satisfied it is safe to do so.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Brexit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials from his Department have been seconded from their primary role to make preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: Departments continually review workforce plans, reprioritise and assess changing needs, which includes identification and cessation of non-priority work where appropriate. We have accelerated our plans, and at the same time, the Civil Service as a whole is working to ensure that EU Exit Implementation is carried out to high quality without impacting public service delivery across the whole of government. The Cabinet Office has staff working on EU exit implementation for a range of scenarios in the interests of preparedness, however the percentage of time spent on exiting the EU without a deal is not recorded or easily accessible at this stage.Cabinet Office are currently looking to increase the numbers of staff trained to be part of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to form a flexible pool to be used if and when required.

Government Departments: Buildings

Jim McMahon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the (a) total book value of the central Government estate in London and (b) rate payable on those properties.

Oliver Dowden: e-PIMS, the central database of properties and land, only holds asset values and rates payable in relation to specific programme requirements. We do not comprehensively record asset values as a matter of course and therefore are unable to provide the total book value. Rates payable information is only collected against individual properties for the benchmarked office estate. For the 149 benchmarked offices over 500m2 in the central civil estate in the London region, net rates totalling £121.3 million were payable in 2017/18.